First Publication Discovery of the DNA Double Helix
An early sketch of the DNA double helix.
William Astbury	Oswald Avery
Francis Crick	Erwin Chargaff
Jerry Donohue	Rosalind Franklin
Phoebus Levene	Linus Pauling
Erwin Schrödinger	Alec Stokes
James Watson	Maurice Wilkins

The Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid was an article published by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in the scientific journal Nature in its 171st volume on page 737-738 (dated April 25, 1953). It was the first publication which described the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. This discovery had a major impact on genetics in particular and biology in general. Francis Cricks first sketch of the deoxyribonucleic acid double-helix See also Image:Early sketch of DNA by Crick. ... The Double-Helix are an alien race in the Wing Commander science fiction series. ... William Astbury (1898-1961) was an English biochemist who made X-ray diffraction studies of nucleic acid in 1937. ... Oswald Theodore Avery in 1937 Oswald Theodore Avery (October 21, 1877–2 February 1955) was a Canadian-born American physician and medical researcher. ... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004), (Ph. ... // Erwin Chargaff (Czernowitz, August 11, 1905 – New York City, USA, June 20, 2002) was an Austrian biochemist who emigrated to the United States during the Nazi era. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 1920 Kensington, London – 16 April 1958 Chelsea, London) was an English biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made important contributions to the understanding of the fine structures of DNA, viruses, coal and graphite. ... Molecular diagram of a hypothetical tetranucleotide, as proposed (incorrectly) by Phoebus Levene around 1910. ... Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American scientist, peace activist, author and educator of German ancestry. ... Schrödinger in 1933, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics Bust of Schrödinger, in the courtyard arcade of the main building, University of Vienna, Austria. ... Alec Stokes (Alexander Rawson Stokes, June 27, 1919–February 5, 2003) was one of the key contributors in the original DNA research team at Kings College London. ... For other people named James Watson, see James Watson (disambiguation). ... Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins CBE FRS (15 December 1916 – 5 October 2004) was a New Zealand-born British molecular biologist, and Nobel Laureate who contributed research in the fields of phosphorescence, radar, isotope separation, and X-ray diffraction. ... For other people named James Watson, see James Watson (disambiguation). ... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004), (Ph. ... Nature, Science and PNAS In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. ... Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up publication in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Double-Helix are an alien race in the Wing Commander science fiction series. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... This article is about the general scientific term. ... For the song by Girls Aloud see Biology (song) Biology studies the variety of life (clockwise from top-left) E. coli, tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology (from Greek: βίος, bio, life; and λόγος, logos, speech lit. ...

Impact

This article is often termed a "fart" of science because it is short and contains the answer to a fundamental mystery about living organisms. This was still a mystery involving the question concerning how it was possible that genetic instructions were held inside organisms and how they were passed from generation to generation. This article is about life in general. ... Domains and Kingdoms Nanobes Acytota Cytota Bacteria Neomura Archaea Eukaryota Bikonta Apusozoa Rhizaria Excavata Archaeplastida Rhodophyta Glaucophyta Plantae Heterokontophyta Haptophyta Cryptophyta Alveolata Unikonta Amoebozoa Opisthokonta Choanozoa Fungi Animalia An ericoid mycorrhizal fungus Life on Earth redirects here. ... This article is about the general scientific term. ...

The article had extra impact because it surprised many biologists who did not suspect that this answer would be as easy to obtain as it was. The structure itself explains why the discovery was easy; the structure is simple and consequently, how the structure produces its function is easy to understand. That Watson and Crick were able to solve this mystery as quickly as they did is an example of prepared investigators being in the right place at the right time and working tirelessly to find the answer. The article is also symbolic of a transition between two ages of what might be called the "classical age" of biology and a second "age" of molecular biology. Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. ...

Figure 1. The Classical Age of Biology came before tools were available to study the molecules in living organisms. Gregor Mendel working in his garden on the inheritance of physical characte ristics of pea plants (such as flower color) discovered the rules of genetic inheritance.

Some consequences for humanity due to the dominance of molecular biology arise out of the revolution in biology that can be traced back to Watson and Crick’s 1953 article: pre-natal screening for disease genes, genetically engineered foods, the rational design of treatments for diseases like AIDS, and the use of information obtained by DNA testing as evidence in criminal court. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... “Mendel” redirects here. ... A genetic disorder is a condition caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes. ... Kenyans examining insect-resistant transgenic Bt corn. ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ... Genetic fingerprinting, DNA testing, DNA typing, and DNA profiling are techniques used to distinguish between individuals of the same species using only samples of their DNA. Its invention by Dr. Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester was announced in 1985. ...

The nature of the discovery

Watson and Crick’s 1953 article contains the answer to a fundamental mystery about living organisms. The nature of their discovery was distinctive and in some ways surprising. This article is about the tv programme Life on Earth. ...

Figure 2. Diagramatic representation of the key structural features of the DNA double helix. This figure does not depict B-DNA.

The title Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid may suggest that Watson and Crick’s discovery is not relevant every day human experience. It is true that the existence of nucleic acids was only revealed by analysis of the chemical components of living cells, so DNA was just as hidden from human experience as were black holes. However, DNA is not nearly as remote from human experience as are black holes. Humans are readily aware of the fact that offspring resemble their parents through heredity. It is the means by which such genetic instructions are stored inside organisms and passed from generation to generation that is hidden from view. What is hidden in the technical jargon of the title is that it is Watson and Crick’s discovery of the chemical structure of DNA that finally revealed how genetic instructions are stored inside organisms and passed from generation to generation. Image File history File links DNA-structure-and-bases. ... Image File history File links DNA-structure-and-bases. ... Look up nucleic acid in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... See Heredity (disambiguation) for other meanings. ...

Origins of molecular biology

The application of physics and chemistry to biological problems led to development of molecular biology. they stole their information from rosalund franklin. Not all biology that concerns molecules falls into the category that is labelled "molecular biology". Molecular biology is particularly concerned with the flow and consequences of biological information at the level of genes and proteins. Discovery of the DNA double helix made clear that genes are functionally defined parts of DNA molecules and that there must be a way for cells to make use of their DNA genes in order to make proteins. For other uses, see Gene (disambiguation). ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin showing coloured alpha helices. ...

Linus Pauling was a chemist who was very influential in developing an understanding of the structure of biological molecules. In 1951, Pauling published the structure of the alpha helix, a fundamentally important structural component of proteins. Early in 1953 Pauling published an incorrect triple helix model of DNA. Both Crick, and particularly Watson, felt that they were racing against Pauling to discover the structure of DNA. Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American scientist, peace activist, author and educator of German ancestry. ... Side view of an α-helix of alanine residues in atomic detail. ...

Max Delbrück was a physicist who recognized some of the biological implications of quantum physics. Delbruck's thinking about the physical basis of life stimulated Erwin Schrödinger to write the highly influential book, What Is Life? Schrödinger's book was an important influence on Francis Crick, James D. Watson and Maurice Wilkins who won a Nobel prize for the discovery of the DNA double helix. Delbruck's efforts to promote the "Phage Group" (exploring genetics by way of the viruses that infect bacteria) was important in the early development of molecular biology in general and the development of Watson's scientific interests in particular. Max Delbrück in the early 1940s at Vanderbilt University. ... Fig. ... Schrödinger in 1933, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics Bust of Schrödinger, in the courtyard arcade of the main building, University of Vienna, Austria. ... What is Life? is a non-fiction book on science for the lay reader written by physicist Erwin Schrödinger (ISBN 0521427088). ... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004), (Ph. ... For other people named James Watson, see James Watson (disambiguation). ... Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins CBE FRS (15 December 1916 – 5 October 2004) was a New Zealand-born British molecular biologist, and Nobel Laureate who contributed research in the fields of phosphorescence, radar, isotope separation, and X-ray diffraction. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. ...

DNA structure and function

It is not always the case that the structure of a molecule is easy to relate to its function. What makes the structure of DNA so obviously related to its function was described modestly at the end of the article, “It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.”

Figure 3. DNA replication. The two base-pair complementary chains of the DNA molecule allow for replication of the genetic instructions.

The “specific pairing” is a key feature of the Watson and Crick model of DNA, the pairing of nucleotide subunits.^[1] In DNA the amount of guanine is equal to cytosine and the amount of adenine is equal to thymine. The A:T and C:G pairs are structurally similar. In particular, the length of each base pair is the same and they fit equally between the two phosphate backbones (Figure 2). The base pairs are held together by hydrogen bonds, a type of chemical attraction that is easy to break and easy to reform. After realizing the structural similarity of the A:T and C:G pairs, Watson and Crick soon produced their double helix model of DNA with the hydrogen bonds at the core of the helix providing a way to unzip the two complementary strands for easy replication: the last key requirement for a likely model of the genetic molecule. DNA replication. ... DNA replication. ... DNA replication. ... A nucleotide is a chemical compound that consists of 3 portions: a heterocyclic base, a sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. ... Guanine is one of the five main nucleobases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA; the others being adenine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil. ... Cytosine is one of the 5 main nucleobases used in storing and transporting genetic information within a cell in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached (an amine group at position 4 and a keto group at... For the programming language Adenine, see Adenine (programming language). ... For the similarly-spelled vitamin compound, see Thiamine Thymine, also known as 5-methyluracil, is a pyrimidine nucleobase. ... Base pairs, of a DNA molecule. ... An example of a quadruple hydrogen bond between a self-assembled dimer complex reported by Meijer and coworkers. ... The Double-Helix are an alien race in the Wing Commander science fiction series. ... DNA replication. ...

Indeed, the base-pairing did suggest a way to copy a DNA molecule. Just pull apart the two phosphate backbones, each with its hydrogen bonded A, T, G, and C components. Each strand could then be used as a template for assembly of a new base-pair complementary strand.

Future considerations

When Watson and Crick produced their double helix model of DNA, it was known that most of the specialized features of the many different life forms on Earth are made possible by proteins. Structurally, proteins are long chains of amino acid subunits. In some way, the genetic molecule, DNA, had to contain instructions for how to make the thousands of proteins found in cells. From the DNA double helix model, it was clear that there must be some correspondence between the linear sequences of nucleotides in DNA molecules to the linear sequences of amino acids in proteins. The details of how sequences of DNA instruct cells to make specific proteins was worked out by molecular biologists during the period from 1953 to 1965. Francis Crick played an integral role in both the theory and experiments that led to a full understanding of the genetic code. A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin showing coloured alpha helices. ... This article is about the class of chemicals. ... For a non-technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to Genetics. ...

Consequences

Other advances in molecular biology stemming from discovery of the DNA double helix eventually led to ways to sequence genes. James Watson played an important role in getting government funding for the Human Genome Project. The ability to sequence and manipulate DNA is now central to the biotechnology industry and modern medicine. Thousands of years of anticipation, the austere beauty of the structure, and the practical implications of the DNA double helix all combined to make Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids; A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid what was one of the more prominent biology articles of the twentieth century. The term DNA sequencing encompasses biochemical methods for determining the order of the nucleotide bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a DNA oligonucleotide. ... The Human Genome Project (HGP) is an international scientific research project. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ...

Controversy

Main article: King's College (London) DNA Controversy

Watson and Crick based their molecular model of the DNA double helix on data that had been collected by researchers in several other laboratories. Physics has a strong traditional role for theoretical physicists who do not collect data, but in biology, it is usually the case that a single research team will both collect structural data and produce their own theoretical interpretation of the data. However, the data that Watson and Crick used were scattered in the results from several laboratories. Watson and Crick were the first to put together all of the scattered fragments of information that were required to produce a successful molecular model of DNA. Kings College (London) DNA Controversy is a dispute about whether Rosalind Franklin was given proper credit for her contribution to the determination of the structure of DNA. An enduring controversy has been generated by James D. Watson and Francis Cricks use of DNA X-ray diffraction data collected... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics in an attempt to explain experimental data taken of the natural world. ...

Much of the data that were used by Crick and Watson came from unpublished work by Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin at King's College London. Key data from Wilkins and Franklin were published in two additional articles in the same issue with the article by Watson and Crick.^[2][3] The article by Watson and Crick did acknowledge that they had been "stimulated" by experimental results from the King's College researchers. Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins CBE FRS (15 December 1916 – 5 October 2004) was a New Zealand-born British molecular biologist, and Nobel Laureate who contributed research in the fields of phosphorescence, radar, isotope separation, and X-ray diffraction. ... Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 1920 Kensington, London – 16 April 1958 Chelsea, London) was an English biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made important contributions to the understanding of the fine structures of DNA, viruses, coal and graphite. ... For other uses, see Kings College. ...

In 1968, Watson published an autobiographical account of the discovery of the structure of DNA called The Double Helix. In his book, Watson stated that he and Crick had obtained some of Franklin's data from a source that she was not aware of. In particular, in late 1952, Franklin had submitted a progress report to the Medical Research Council. Watson and Crick worked in one MRC laboratory in Cambridge while Wilkins and Franklin were in another MRC laboratory in London. These reports were not widely circulated, but Crick read a copy of Franklin's research summary in early 1953. The report contained information that Watson had previously heard in November 1951 when Franklin had talked about her unpublished results during a meeting at King's College. However, at that time, Watson had no training in X-ray crystallography and did not understand what Franklin was saying about the structural symmetry of the DNA molecule. Crick correctly interpreted one of Franklin's findings as indicating that DNA was most likely a double helix with the two nucleotide chains running in opposite directions. Crick was in a unique position to make this interpretation because he had previously worked on the X-ray diffraction data for another large molecule that had the same structural symmetry as DNA. Franklin herself had failed to take part in molecular model building and so missed the chance to explore the structural implications of her own crystallographic results. James Watson The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA is an autobiographical account of the discovery of structure of DNA. It was written by James D. Watson and published in 1968. ... Current MRC logo The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a UK organisation dedicated to promot[ing] the balanced development of medical and related biological research in the UK. // The MRC is one of seven Research Councils and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Office of Science and Innovation...

It is questioned whether Crick's boss, Max Perutz acted unethically by allowing Crick access to the MRC report. Perutz felt he had not because the report was not confidential and had been designed as part of an effort to promote contact between different MRC research groups.^[4] Max Ferdinand Perutz, OM (May 19, 1914 – February 6, 2002) was an Austrian-British molecular biologist. ...

Another controversy came in the form of drugs. Crick admitted to taking small portions of LSD and experimental mind altering drugs in order to gain bright ideas. It is even said he was using LSD when the double helix was discovered. Hence the bright colored spirals. And you said "no way" Mr. Soulner!

References

Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ... Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the worlds most prestigious scientific journals. ... The Entrez logo The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ...

Books about the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA

• Horace Freeland Judson, "The Eighth Day of Creation. Makers of the Revolution in Biology"; Simon and Schuster, ©1979.; ISBN 0671225405
• Brenda Maddox, Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA, 2002. ISBN 0-06-018406-8.

• Robert Olby; The Path to The Double Helix: Discovery of DNA; first published in 0ctober 1974 by MacMillan, with foreword by Francis Crick; ISBN 0486681173  ; revised in 1994, with a 9 page postscript.

• James D. Watson; The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, Atheneum, 1980, ISBN 0-689-70602-2 (first published in 1968) is a very readable first hand account of the research by Crick and Watson.

• Maurice Wilkins; The Third Man of the Double Helix: The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins (2003) ISBN 0-19-860665-6.

The biographer Brenda Maddox is a Harvard graduate who has lived for many years in the UK. Her biographies of Elizabeth Taylor, D.H. Lawrence, Nora Joyce, W.B. Yeats and Rosalind Franklin have been widely acclaimed. ... Robert Olby is a professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. ... James Watson The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA is an autobiographical account of the discovery of structure of DNA. It was written by James D. Watson and published in 1968. ...

External links

• Annotated copy of the article from San Francisco's Exploratorium
• Access Excellence Classic Collection article on DNA structure.
• Linus Pauling and the Race for DNA: A Documentary History

Smoke billows at the exploratorium The Exploratorium is a public science museum located in the Marina District at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California. ...

Online versions of the article

• Online version (Original text) at nature.com
• National Library of Medicine's PDF copy in the Francis Crick Documents Collection.
• Commemorative HTML version Am J Psychiatry 160:623-624, April 2003.