NEWS

Morehead Center explores ‘DNA: The Secret of Life’ in new film; DNA pioneer Watson collaborates on project, will appear

CHAPEL HILL -- When the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center decided to produce a film to honor the 50^th anniversary of the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure, officials chose a project collaborator with a unique perspective: Dr. James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA structure.

Watson, author of the just-published "DNA: The Secret of Life," has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and, with Drs. Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962 (for the discovery of the DNA structure). He is president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, and had served as director from 1968 to 1993.

The Morehead Center film, "DNA: The Secret of Life," will have its first general public screening May 15 at 7 p.m. in the Morehead Center’s new digital video theater and will be distributed to other museums statewide and nationwide. Those institutions showing the film include New York City’s American Museum of Natural History, Boston’s Museum of Science, Charlotte’s Discovery Place and Raleigh’s N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.

In addition to providing critical guidance on the film project, Watson is participating in a day of activities – including a moderated discussion with N.C. high school students and an invitation-only reception and premiere of the film – May 14 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Morehead Center is located at the north end of the university’s campus.

"An important part of the Morehead Center’s mission is to demonstrate to young people how exciting, rewarding and fun the pursuit of science can be," said Dr. Holden Thorp, Morehead Center director. "I think our enthusiasm for this mission and our DNA film project made a difference to Dr. Watson, and I could not be more grateful to him for working so closely with us on what we think is a remarkable movie."

Watson’s visit and the DNA film mark the first major events in Morehead Center history that don’t focus on the astronomical sciences. The DNA project is an important part of the center’s plans to expand its mission beyond the traditional realm, Thorp said.

"The DNA film will demonstrate our center’s commitment to bringing the excitement of scientific discovery to life and will position our center as a leader in producing top-quality materials for science education around the world."

"DNA: The Secret of Life" explores the structure and science of the DNA molecule and considers the future of genomic research. Watson, who collaborated extensively with Thorp and the film’s producers, said he was enthusiastic about the 33-minute movie.

"Ever since discovering the DNA double helix in 1953, I’ve tried to give people a feeling for what’s going on in the complex 3-D world at the heart of every cell," said Watson. "But it’s not that simple. Now, with its winning combination of the very latest science, state-of-the-art computer animation and careful film-making, ‘DNA: The Secret of Life’ has finally done it."

A trio of award-winning filmmakers from the United Kingdom – Windfall Films, The Red Green and Blue Company and The Mill – worked with the Morehead Center to create "DNA: The Secret of Life." The Mill, which won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for the movie "Gladiator," created the film’s computer animations of the DNA molecule, which are recognized as some of the most sophisticated and scientifically accurate animations ever viewed of the molecule.

Watson was just 24 years old when he and his colleague, Crick, discovered the double helix structure, which resembles a winding staircase. The DNA molecule contains a genetic language that relays information about what traits an organism will have.

The Morehead Center is just completing work on "Life in the Universe," a new Star Theater show that will complement the DNA film, said Thorp. Scheduled to open in late June, this program will explore fundamentals of life on Earth from the smallest cellular structures to the largest sea mammals and investigate the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.

"Life in the Universe" features a script and interviews with university faculty members and Nobel laureate Dr. Christian de Duve. Actress Sharon Lawrence, a UNC alumna and Raleigh native, recorded the narration.

For more information on the creation of "DNA: The Secret of Life" and other Morehead Center programs, click on www.moreheadplanetarium.org or call (919) 962-1236.

- 30 -

Morehead Center contact: Jeff Hill, (919) 962-1236 or jeff_hill@unc.edu
UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu