A race for the double helix

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The greatest discoveries do not come from a single source. It takes many different sources coming together as one, a compilation of information to lead to a significant discovery. For example, in what seemed like a race for the double helix, several different scientists had to make excellent progress in their works. all of the different discoveries related to the broad subject of dna had to be mended together in order for the final discovery of the true structure of DNA. to come about.

Frederick douglas, born in Hale, England in 1879, was a bacteriologist who made the first progressive movement in gaining knowledge related to the structure of DNA. In 1928 he reported one of the first experiments suggesting that bacteria are capable of transferring genetic information via transformation. In his experiment, formally known as Griffith’s experiment, he used two strains of Streptococcus Pneumoniae (pneumococcus) bacteria to infect mice. The two types were type III-S and type II-R. Type III-S had a protective capsule that could shield it from the immune system of the host. In the experiment, bacteria from the type III-S strain were killed with heat and then the remains were added to th II-R strain bacteria. Although neither strain alone was harmful to the mice, the combination was lethal. when looking at the bloodwork of the dead mice. Griffith found live strains of both bacteria. He concluded that type III-S transformed into type II-R. This experiment showed that traits could be transferred from one organism to another. it was one of the first experiments to suggest that DNA was the genetic code because heat denatures protein, thus ruling out the possibility of protein being the genetic code. At this time, DNA was still poorly...

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...ar structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material. They are both well known for their discovery of the double helix in 1953.

Although Watson and Crick were the ones who came out on top, discovering the double helix, it would not have been possible without the assistance of many other scientists; Rosalind Franklin in particular. Rosalind Franklin’s outstanding pictures of DNA and research on the matter of the location of the phosphate groups were what allowed Watson and Crick to finish their model. She was a brilliant scientist and unfortunately she was not recognized for her remarkable discovery. Rosalind Franklin died at age 37 of ovarian cancer which is thought to be an effect of the work she dedicated her life to. Working with x-ray crystallography exposed her to the excessive radiation that brought on the cancer.

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