Nobel laureate James Watson has retired from his post at a prestigious research institution. Watson, who sparked an international furor last week with comments about intelligence levels among Africans, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York announced his departure Thursday.

A U.S. scientist who shocked the world with his description of intelligence levels among blacks canceled a book-promotion tour of Britain and returned to the U.S. Friday, his publisher said.

A planned lecture in London by a Nobel laureate has been cancelled amid a race row. One of the world's most eminent scientists, Dr James Watson, who helped discover the structure of DNA, sparked controversy after claiming in a recent interview that black people are less intelligent than whites.

According to a new study by researchers in the University of Minnesota's sociology department, Americans are generally positive -- even optimistic -- about the word 'diversity,' but when asked, even those working in the field of race relations have trouble describing diversity's value and stumble when giving real life examples.