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Describe the chemical structure of dna and its significance
Essay on structure of DNA
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The Double Helix by James Watson is his personal reflection on discovering the structure of the DNA molecule. With contributions of other scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick were able to solve the structure of DNA. Through contributions and integral relationships of Watson and Crick to Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin, Linus Pauling, and other smaller contributors the DNA structure was finally solved.
The first and primary contribution to solving the DNA structure was the relationship of Crick and Watson. Without their teamwork and determination, another scientist would have discovered the structure before them. One of Crick’s bigger contributions was discovering the gene is self-replicating. After talking with John Griffith, Crick came up with the idea that the gene is self-replicating, meaning the gene has the ability “to be exactly copied when the chromosome number doubles during cell division”(126). With further discussion with Griffith, Francis believed that DNA replication involved specific attractive forces between the flat surfaces of the bases (128). One of Watson’s major contributions was after seeing the B form of DNA by Franklin, Watson knew that the structure of DNA was two-chained and that led to the building of the model of DNA (171). Also through research, Watson became aware that adenine and thymine pair together and are held by two hydrogen bonds that were identical in shape to the guanine and cytosine pair held together by at least two hydrogen bonds (194). This discovery showed that the two chains of DNA are complementary to each other. With these individual contributions coming together, Watson and Crick successfully were able to piece together the structure of DNA.
Linus Pauling was another indiv...
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...e molecules, as guanine molecules were similar in number to cytosine molecules (125). Chargaff gathered that DNA of some organisms had excess of A and T, while other forms had excess of G and C (126). With these smaller contributions, Watson and Crick were able to solve the intricate structure of DNA.
With the solving of the structure of DNA, everything was put aside for the betterment of biology. Rivalries were put aside because everyone understood the importance of this discovery. All these scientists had a part in aiding in the discovery of the structure of DNA. The discovery of the structure of DNA was not done by only two men, but of many other contributors. With the knowledge gained by other contributors, Watson and Crick were able to finally identify the structure of DNA.
Works Cited
Watson, James D. The Double Helix. New York: Touchstone, 2001. Print.
Francis Crick: He does the same research with Watson and they are both teammates. He is also eager to know what is in DNA and the relationship of it with the double-helix, but at the same time is disorganised, and expected Watson to do a majority of work.
With a competitive spirit, people are driven to act in ways that they would not otherwise and the results can be drastic. In the case of James D. Watson and Francis Crick, in Watson’s novel the Double Helix, this sensation of competition leads to one of the greatest discoveries in biology. But the actions of Watson, Crick, and their competitors may or may not be justified for the results that they yield; the powerful conflict of rivalry has beneficial, detrimental, and questionably moral consequences that shaped the pathway to DNA’s structure.
Edmund Beecher Wilson, a biologist from Columbia University in New York City, made this same discovery at about the same time as Nettie. Nettie also established that chromosomes exist as paired structures in body cells.
The following is a review of the book, The Double Helix, by James D. Watson that was published in 1968. Here the Norton Critical Edition will be used for page numbering and insights for this review, which was edited by Gunter S. Stent and published in 1980. The Double Helix is a personal recollection of the period of time when the structure of DNA was discovered. James D. Watson (Watson) along with Francis Crick (Crick) were the two scientists who published a paper in 1953 which purposed a structure for DNA. For the most part their structure has stood the test of time, and since that time period many people have wanted to know details of how they discovered DNA’s structure (pp. 3). Therefore Watson’s purpose in writing the book was to describe his personal view of the events that lead to discovery of DNA’s three-dimensional structure, when they happened in 1952-53. He is well qualified to give an account of these things, for he was there in the middle of everything; he was one of the main players. In order to describe the events, apart from his sharp memory, Watson used letters he wrote to his family to help him remember dates and details, as well as suggestions from his associates who reviewed his manuscript. In the following paragraphs I will summarize the text, and follow that with my own review of
"The discovery of the structure by Crick and Watson, with all its biological implications, has been one of the major scientific events of this century." (Bragg, The Double Helix, p1) In the story of The Double Helix, James Watson tells of the road that led to the discovery of life's basic building block-DNA. This autobiography gives insight into science and the workings within a professional research laboratory that few members of society will ever be able to experience. It also gives the reader an idea of the reality of life for one scientist and how he struggled with the problem of DNA. However, the author's style is marked by his lack of objectivity and inclusion of many biased opinions and personal prejudices.
The Double Helix was written by James D. Watson. James Dewey Watson was born on April 6th, 1928, in Chicago Illinois. He was a precocious student, and entered the University of Chicago when he was only 15. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in zoology four years later, and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in the same subject at Indiana University. Watson Joined Francis Crick at Cambridge in 1951, in an attempt to determine the chemical structure of living matter. They continued their work until February 28, 1954 when they made a historic discovery. They had determined the structure of DNA. In June they published their findings in the British science journal Nature. In acknowledgment, Francis Crick and James Watson shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. The discovery of the structure of the molecule deoxyribonucleic acid led James Watson to write the personal account of how the structure of DNA was discovered. He wrote the book to give people an honest, accurate account that would include the bad along with the good aspects of how science is done and to give people a sense of how competitive it is in the world of science.
Here, John used Rosalind’s experience with X-rays on DNA fibers. Using the X-ray diffraction techniques she learned from Jacques Mering, Rosalind along with her student, Raymond Gosling, discovered something that would change the world of genetics forever: the structure of DNA. Not only did Rosalind and Raymond find the structure of DNA, but they figured out that there were two types of DNA structures: a dry and a wet form. Even though Rosalind and Raymond were the true founders of the DNA structure, they were never truly given credit on this matter. What caused this was Rosalind’s conflict with her colleague, Maurice Wilkins. This conflict would cost Rosalind quite a lot in the determination of DNA’s structure. In 1953, Wilkins did a deed that would change the history of DNA’s structure discovery forever. Without Rosalind nor Raymond’s consent, she showed the picture of the wet form of DNA taken by Rosalind and her student to James Watson and Francis Crick, who were both also in the race of finding the structure of DNA.3 Later in 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published what they saw in Rosalind's image of DNA, titled Photo 51. This led to their winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1962.2 Although Rosalind wasn't credited greatly by James and Francis when they published the image of DNA’s structure, overall, her findings have helped the world
His study went on for many years and he felt like giving up many times. However, it was his dedication to what he believed about the genetic process that made him continue with his study. Before Oswald and his fellow coworker’s discovery most scientist believed genetic properties were located in cell protein. It was after the study conducted by Avery, MacLeod and McCarty scientist realized DNA makes up chromosomes and genes and is therefore responsible for heredity. Oswald had planned on retiring however he put it on hold until his research was complete. In 1944 Avery, and his fellow coworkers MacLeod and McCarty wrote of their discovery in the Journal of Experimental
The groundwork was laid in 1943 for Watson and Crick by scientist Oswald Avery, the man that discovered that DNA does indeed carry genetic material (PBS). The only problem at this point in time was that “no one knew how it worked.” Now how did that lead to Watson and Crick discovering how DNA was structured and could replicate itself? According to PBS, Rosalind Franklin was studying at Cambridge with Watson and Crick. “Franklin, a shy and inward young woman, suffered from patronizing attitudes and sexism that forced her to do much of her work alone.” Franklin and
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a self-replicating molecule or material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent in chromosomes. It encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses. Simply put, DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. The discovery and use of DNA has seen many changes and made great progress over many years. James Watson was a pioneer molecular biologist who is credited, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, with discovering the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. The three won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 for their work (Bagley, 2013). Scientist use the term “double helix” to describe DNA’s winding, two-stranded chemical structure. This shape looks much like a twisted ladder and gives the DNA the power to pass along biological instructions with great precision.
She was very close to actually deciphering the DNA structure. She had the parameters of the helical backbone, and also knew the two types of DNA, dry A, as well as wet B, which was important in deciphering the DNA structure. In her notebooks, she seemed to be aware of Chargaff’s ratios, which states adenine and thymine is equal, as well as cytosine to guanine. The difference of enol and keto forms, which was key to base pairing, were well known as well as hydrogen
First, Franklin took a picture of DNA’s B form. That photo was acquired through Franklin bundling super thin strands of DNA and zapping them with a super fine x-ray beam. Through the photo is showen a fuzzy cross which meant DNA had a double helix. The double helix was a major
Miescher believe DNA was an acid, and had nothing to do with heredity because heredity had to be carried on a protein ( a protein is much more complex than an acid); therefore it was much overlooked. In 1875, Walther Flemming discovered a cell, termed the nucleus. The nucleus would prove to be a very crucial part of proving what Mendel was proposing. Flemming discovered that the nucleus would split into two string-like structures that he called “chromosomes”, then it would create two new cells. (Later the new cells are referred to as “daughter cells,”). Walter Sutton, in 1902, made the observation that daughter cells mimicked the chromosomes of the parent cells. Suttons’ observation further proved Mendel’s hypothesis, and also led to more understanding of chromosomes, and the way they duplicate each other. William Bateson did experiments similar to that of Mendel’s sixteen years after Mendel published his paper. When Bateson published his work, he mentioned Mendel in his speech. Bateson noted that “…Mendel’s work…would “certainly play a conspicuous part in all future discussions of evolutionary problems,” (qtd. in Yount). Bateson later termed the coin “Genetics” as what he and many others, including Mendel, were attempting to study. At the time Genetics was termed, the field of Genetics was an extremely popular thing to study. In 1910 geneticist Thomas Morgan was
McDonald & Lehman, (2012). Says in 1953, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick discovered DNAs double helix structure consisting of two twisted strands of polymers held together by hydrogen bonds that form between the complementary base pairing of nucleotides: adenine, to thymine and cytosine to guanine. A discovery that led to questions about how DNA variability are differences in the arrangement of base pairs and is
DNA is important because it is found in all living things like plants and animals. It is located in the nucleus of a cell. DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid which is what contains our genetic code. Many scientist contributed to the discovery of DNA and it’s structure. Like Frederick Griffith, Oswald Avery, Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase. Also Erwin Chargaff, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson and Francis Crick.