Los Angeles: British Nobel prize winner Francis Crick, who with American James Watson discovered the double helix structure of DNA, has died at the age of 88, associates said.

Crick, who won the Nobel medicine prize in 1962, passed away last night (Jul 29, 2004) at a hospital in San Diego, California, where he had been battling colon cancer.

"Francis Crick will be remembered as one of the most brilliant and influential scientists of all time," said Richard Murphy, president and chief executive officer of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies where Crick had worked.

On April 25 1953, Crick and Watson published in the British journal Nature their model of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a molecule found in the nucleus of cells.

After intense studies at Cambridge University, the pair described a double helix, joined by rungs comprising pairs of four chemicals, and humbly suggested it could be the means for copying genetic material.

The implication was stunning: DNA was nothing less than the inherited template for creating and sustaining life.

The impact of their discovery is recognised by many as one of the most significant of the 20th century and affects practically every discipline in the life sciences.

"He will be missed as a gentleman, a role model, and a person who has contributed so much to our understanding of biology and the health of mankind. For those of us privileged to know him at Salk, he will also be remembered as a dear friend," Murphy added.