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Watson & Crick's DNA Discovery

Watson and Crick were renowned scientists who worked tirelessly at the Cavendish Laboratories in Cambridge, England to uncover the secrets of DNA and its structure. They were able to determine that DNA had a double helix structure with paired bases through using x-ray diffraction images provided by Rosalind Franklin and information on the arrangement of nucleotides. Watson finally pieced together the structure while playing with cardboard models, determining that adenine and thymine bond together through double hydrogen bonds and guanine and cytosine bond through single hydrogen bonds. Their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was groundbreaking and earned them worldwide recognition, though Rosalind Franklin who provided key data did not receive a Nobel Prize as she had passed away.

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431 views3 pages

Watson & Crick's DNA Discovery

Watson and Crick were renowned scientists who worked tirelessly at the Cavendish Laboratories in Cambridge, England to uncover the secrets of DNA and its structure. They were able to determine that DNA had a double helix structure with paired bases through using x-ray diffraction images provided by Rosalind Franklin and information on the arrangement of nucleotides. Watson finally pieced together the structure while playing with cardboard models, determining that adenine and thymine bond together through double hydrogen bonds and guanine and cytosine bond through single hydrogen bonds. Their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was groundbreaking and earned them worldwide recognition, though Rosalind Franklin who provided key data did not receive a Nobel Prize as she had passed away.

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Brianna Rauchman

Mrs. Jobz
Period 6
6 December 2014
The DNA Duo
Watson and Crick, two renowned scientists known for their
research regarding DNA, worked tirelessly to uncover the secrets of
genetics. Crick, 35, and Watson, 23, both sustained a drive to break
boundaries. Crick delved into the mysteries of life and death
throughout his career, until he came into contact with the mystery of
DNA. Similarly, Watson studied ornithology, but his career B-lined
following his employment in Europe. Watson and Cricks path collided
at the Cavendish Laboratories in Cambridge, England. Watson was
focused on his postdoctoral fellowship when he met a biophysicist
named Francis C. Crick. An innate devotion to the science of DNA
instantly bonded them.
Moreover, Watson and Crick would not have succeeded if it
werent for the discoveries of Rosalind Franklin. An avid researcher at
the laboratory in Kings College, Rosalind examined the structure of
DNA using X-rays. In the prime of her career, Franklin discovered that if
a concentrated, viscous solution of DNA is created, it could be parted
into individual fibers. When submitted to proper conditions, these
fibers posses the ability to resemble a crystal. Hence, when x-rayed,

the fibers will form a diffraction pattern. This process was utilized to
examine DNA. Wilkins, an associate who devoted his time to DNA,
loathed Franklin. This tension led Wilkins to secretly provide Watson
with a picture of the diffraction. The diffraction revealed a helical
shape, which Watson and Crick based their research off of.
Using information provided by diffraction, Watson and Crick went
to work piecing together a replica of the DNA molecule. However,
Watson and Crick werent the only people in search of answers. Various
other leading scientists, excluding those at Kings College, aimed to
unlock the genetic code. It was vital that Watson and Crick be the first
to form the molecular structure, or else they would receive no
recognition. Furthermore, many scientists, including Franklin, ridiculed
their work. Even, so the two scientists continued researching. While
Watson and Crick were aware that DNA was a polymer of nucleotides
with a double helix, paired bases, and a sugar phosphate backbone,
they were unable to rationalize how the bases were paired. Watson
eventually pieced the final structure of DNA together while playing with
cardboard in a lab. He deduced that Adenine and Thymine were glued
together by double hydrogen bonds and Guanine and Cytosine were
tied by singular hydrogen bonds. The arrangement of bases complied
with mathematical measurements instituted by diffraction and
Chargaffs rules. Thus, the structure of DNA had been born.
Unfortunately, Franklin did not receive a Nobel Prize because she

passed away at age 37 in 1958. A Nobel prize was later presented to


Watson, Crick, and a fellow colleague named Wilkins. After receiving
their award in 1962, the two men entertained worldwide recognition for
their genius, and were featured in numerous articles. Their discovery is
still pondered and examined in modern genetics, and their contribution
to science will never be forgotten.

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