Dna In The Early 1950's

Throughout the early 19th and 20th century, many scientists have studied deoxyribonucleic acids in order to attain higher understanding over the matter. Johann G. Mendel had figured out and understood the laws of heredity. Friedrich Miescher amazingly discovered DNA in 1869, even though scientists did not understand DNA was the genetic material

In the early 1950s, the race to find the structure of DNA was in full swing. The search was being conducted at three different colleges. At the California Institute of Technology, Linus Pauling,

Improper forensics, bad lawyering, snitches, unqualified “experts,” eye witness misidentification, false confessions, and mishandled evidence are all just a few reasons for wrongful convictions in the justice system. However, the authors of Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make it Right, discuss how DNA is a main factor into “actually innocent” people. Throughout this book we learn stories about those who were wrongfully convicted and later proven guilty for reasons such as DNA testing. While this proves to us that not everyone convicted is guilty, it points out many other errors in the criminal justice system as well.

The discovery started with what was inside the cell, and then they dove deeper looking for what was inside of the chromosomes and that is where they found the DNA structure.

Watson was immersed in the problem of genes at a very early age and wished to contribute to solving it as it was the most pressed issue in post-war era. His main doctorate was in genetics and he scantly had any training in chemistry or physics for that matter. The ineptitude to chemistry he attributes to his own laziness. (Page 10).

DNA, the molecule of life that carries genetic information in humans and almost all other organisms, has been considered as one of the greatest discoveries until now. If DNA could not have been discovered, we would not be able to do or test numerous things such as paternity test and pathological confirmation. There are four main scientists who contributed their lives, knowledge, and ambitions to find out the DNA double helix, a DNA molecule that has two strands winding around each other: James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin. Throughout historical backgrounds and environments, their discovery of

For many years people have been interested on how our body works, and why we are the way we are. The discovery of the DNA takes place in 1952 with John Watson, Francis Crick, and the less famous for this discovery, Rosalind Franklin. However, there have been more people that have been crucial to the discovery of DNA, as it is Gregor Mendel with his publishes results of inheritance of factors in pea plants, and many other scientist that without actually understanding or trying to find the truth about DNA, they encouraged people to be more interested on what are the reasons we are the way we are.

Long before the introduction of Mendelian Genetics and the discovery of the double helix shape of DNA, scientists where making breakthroughs in the field of molecular and cell biology, creating the fundamentals of what we know today. One of the earliest and most influential was Robert Hooke, an English natural philosopher, architect and Renaissance man.

This DNA discovery began to develop as early as 1943 when Oswald Avery proved that DNA can carry genetic information (PBS, 2001). Many other scientists soon began to believe that DNA must have had a simple structure to store genetic information for making living organisms. By 1950, Crick and Watson were on a mission to figure out how DNA worked. The two together, combined their scientific backgrounds for 18 months and were able to establish that DNA had a complex structure, but was intriguingly simple enough to be the molecule of life (National Library of Medicine, 2015). During the same time in London, Franklin and Wilkins were also studying DNA, but by

The work of these four people led to a complete restructuring of the beliefs of the scientific community regarding genetic information. Their initial word led to further work which encompassed their hypothesis of how DNA replicates itself. From this work came the modern technologies of DNA fingerprinting and sequencing.

In 1953, two scientists named Watson and Crick made one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. They discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, which led scientists to be able to

In 1962, the Nobel Prize was awarded to Francis Crick and James Watson for formulating the structure of the complex molecule known as DNA. These discoveries were a direct result of the accumulation of many scientists’ earlier analyses and findings of the DNA. Before Watson and Crick had developed the double-helical structure of DNA, indication of this genetic material had been revealed around the 1850’s. During the century following the first evidence of DNA, subsequent researchers had been eagerly examining the physical and chemical components of this molecule. Moreover, scientists such as Erwin Chargaff and Linus Pauling established a scientific foundation of research for future experts like Watson and Crick to analyze and interpret. The history of science acknowledges Watson and Crick’s findings as an exclusive discovery of their studies. However, the knowledge required to expose these innovative ideas are a culmination of “human events in which personalities and cultural traditions play major roles” (Watson and Stent, 3). Watson’s personal account within The Double Helix introduces the significance of these scientific influences on his research and discovery of the DNA molecular structure. Without major scientific figures, such as Max Perutz, Rosalind Franklin, and Linus Pauling, the conceptualization of Watson and Crick’s DNA structure would not have successfully developed as it did in the 1950’s.

When most people think of DNA, scientists, laboratories, and twisted ladders come to mind. In reality, DNA makes up genetic material, which makes up proteins that form much of the body and perform vital tasks. The study of DNA and genetic material is something more people should be aware of. As a society, knowing how powerful genetic research and technology are holds the possibility to help, or possibly hurt, people now and in the future.

When most people think of DNA, scientists, laboratories, and twisted ladders come to mind. In reality, DNA makes up genetic material, which makes up proteins that form much of the body and perform vital tasks. The study of DNA and genetic material is something more people should be aware of. As a society, knowing how powerful genetic research and technology are holds the possibility to help, or possibly hurt, people now and in the future.

Rosalind Franklin’s work on DNA was crucial in discovering the composition of the human body as a whole. Her x-ray photo revealed a double helix structure and she also discovered the A and B form of DNA. She worked through the adversity of being a female in a predominately male dominated realm and made remarkable findings that were eventually stolen. She adapted to a new lab with antiquated technology. Before this discovery, the structure of DNA was thought to be simple. Scientist, Watson and Crick, started with the wrong structure of DNA from a misinterpretation of notes from one of Franklin’s presentations. Unlike Watson and Crick, Rosalind Franklin could explain DNA and how it worked.