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Nobel Prize winner gets back medal bought out by Russian businessman at auction

The medal was bought out by Russian billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov - precisely for the purpose of returning it to the great scientist

American biologist James Watson and Vladimir Fortov, the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev

American biologist James Watson and Vladimir Fortov, the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences

© AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev

MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. American biologist James Watson, the outstanding researcher of the DNA has received back the Nobel Prize medal that he sold in 2014 in order to get money for scientific research.

The medal was bought out by Russian billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov - precisely for the purpose of returning it to the great scientist.

Dr. Watson received the medal on Wednesday back from Dr. Vladimir Fortov, the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Watson said he was very glad the medal had returned to him. He indicated that he hoped to get more money for science and continued research when he sold it and now he was grateful to Alisher Usmanov for this moving and impressive step.

Usmanov was unable to attend the ceremony but Dr. Fortov conveyed his words of praise for Dr. Watson for contribution to science.

The medal was auctioned off at Christie’s for $ 4.8 million in December 2014.

"The situation where an outstanding researcher has to sell his medal, which he received as a sign of recognition of his achievements, is totally unacceptable," Usmanov said then. "James Watson is one of the greatest biologists in history and the prize he received for discovering the structure of the DNA must belong to him.".

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