It's a handwritten letter from a father to his 12-year-old son, but it's not any dad writing to his preteen about the secrets of the world. This one penned by Nobel Laureate Francis Crick and tell about his new discovery, "des-oxy-ribose-nucleic acid," commonly known today as D.N.A.
At Christie's auction house, the double-sided, seven page note sold to anonymous buyer for a whopping $5.3M at auction – more than twice its high estimate. With the buyer's premium, the total cost came to $6,059,750.
The so-called "secret of life" letter was written to Crick's son Michael in 1953, shortly after Crick and his research partner James Watson discovered the double-helix structure of DNA. At the time, Michael was in the infirmary at his boarding school, and may not have been easy reading for the ill 12 year old to understand. Nevertheless, Crick stressed the significance of the information inside.