DNA: Greatest discovery of the past 100 years

Did you know that the discovery of the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is considered the most important biological work over the last 100 years? Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco Jr., “The Unfolding Gene Revolution” author, said it was considered the greatest scientific discovery much later after Nature, a prestigious scientific journal, published an article on it on April 25, 1953. American James Watson, then a 23-year Ph.D. holder on biology, and British physicist Francis Crick, both at the University of Cambridge came out high-profile after they showed proof of the structure of the DNA. They illustrated that the DNA is a molecule made up of two chains of helix-forming nucleotides interlocked with each other, each a template for the other. When the two chains separate in cell division, a new set of chain exactly the same as the original is formed, making DNA multiply itself faithfully. An exception, though, is mutations at unpredictable times. But Watson and Crick, as they are now collectively known, didn’t do it all twosome but were inspired by many people in their DNA discovery even prior to their receiving a Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine in 1962. That award they shared together with Maurice Wilkins of King’s College in London who studied DNA by looking at DNA’s x-ray diffraction photos. First, they were inspired by the work of Linus Pauling who found out in 1948 that proteins have an alpha helix shape that spirals. Then Erwin Chargaff, an Austrian biochemist, showed that the nitrogen bases (the pairs adenine (A)and guanine (G) and cytosine (C) and thymine (T)) are arranged in different ways. But the amount of the bases, the A in a DNA sample, was always equal to that of T; similarly, the amount of C was the same as the amount of G. That he found out through the use of chromatography which enables separation of a mixture’s substances. The DNA structure appears to be so simple, composed of only four bases, A, G, C, T, so as to represent a vast data of trait in plant, animal, and human life. But isn’t the Morse Code also composed of only four symbols (dot, dash, short spaces, and long spaces) which can represent all encyclopedia of human knowledge? Watson and Crick never did any experiment on their work but only seriously examined others’ works! Their other inspirations were the works of Hershey and Chase; they read scientific papers of chemists from the US and England. But most of all, according to Rasco, they “made sketches and three dimensional models, and spent a lot of time discussing their ideas in the office and elsewhere, notably Cambridge Campus’ Eagle Pub over martini and beer.” But then, another very important stimulus for them was the work of Rosalind Franklin, also of King’s College, whom Watson and Crick listened to in a lecture in a rather critical way, owing partly to her (maybe shabby) physical appearance. Franklin showed through x-ray diffractions the wet form of DNA which was in a helix form with the outside part of the molecule formed by phosphates. Unfortunately, Franklin had died by the time Watson and Crick received the Nobel Prize which is only being given to people who are alive and only to be shared by three. end---------