James Watson: Master of the scientific gaffe

London's Science Museum has cancelled a sell-out talk by James Watson this Friday. It follows his remarks in an interview with the Sunday Times, in which he suggested that black people are less intelligent than white people. He was quoted as saying that he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really". He went on to say that his hope is that everyone is equal, but that "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true".

The Science Museum said that he had "gone beyond the point of acceptable debate" and axed the talk, which was planned to be the first of several in the UK to promote his new book, Avoid Boring People. You can find out more about the book in our interview with Watson, in which he talks at length about his scientific career.