London: One of the men who discovered the structure of DNA has said that it should be possible to cure four in five of all cancer cases within a decade, but only if scientists revolutionise the way they approach the disease.
Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Dublin, Nobel laureate Dr James Watson accused cancer researchers of thinking too narrowly and of being afraid to take risks.
“I think we should focus on why we can`t cure it,” said Watson.
“I think if we know why we are not able to cure it and if we can write down on paper ways by which we might overcome these things, then we have a chance.
“People doing cancer research don`t try to know everything, they don`t seem to be willing to take chances.
“We think they must be really clever people – no they`re not – but they are no worse than other people,” he said.
The 84-year-old, who has written a scientific paper on cancer, also said that there is little point in catching the disease early because of the worry it causes.
“I think you just want to be able to cure it at the end and not worry about the beginning and it`s cheaper,” he added.
ANI
