Double Helix Lab Report

Over the course of the modern age, the human body was still a mystery waiting to be solved. The body contains secrets one can only hope to discover. Over the twentieth century, scientists tried to understand one of the most complex concepts in the biological field. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) was at the forefront of research. Several theories claimed to have solved the structural concept of DNA. However, it was not until Francis Crick and James D. Watson discovered the true structure, the double helix. However, many potential models of DNA had passed through the biology field until eventual lose of credibility. The past models would contain a fixed detail that would make the entire concept invalid. In James D. Watson book, The Double Helix, he illustrates his path amid incorrect theories until he reaches the model that is taught around the world today.

Scientist in early 1950s James Watson a biologist from Indiana University and Francis Crick a physicist were working at lab to discover the structure of DNA. The primary technique for structural analysis of biological molecules is X-rays. The wave length of X-ray is about the same as the space between the atoms in crystal matters. We learn and know that genetic information was carried on chromosomes made up of DNA and protein. Maurice decided and taken the first x-ray picture of DNA that lead him to suggest the DNA structure might be a helix. Watson was able to rely on Wilkins' research. If he had not, he may have not been the one to discover the structure of DNA. The biggest thing I learned from my research is that scientists can’t make discoveries

1) Watson and Crick: Used Rosalind Franklin’s x-rays of DNA to conclude that DNA took the shape of a double helix.

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

2. The millions of copies that are created from a meager amount of DNA assist the laboratory in generating a DNA profile that will be compared against the DNA profile of the suspect.

The discovery of the structure of DNA was one of the most important scientific achievements in the last century, in human history, in fact. The now-famous double helix is almost synonymous with Watson and Crick, two of the scientist who won the Nobel Prize for figuring it out. But there is another name you may know too, Rosalind Franklin. You may have heard that her data supported Watson and Crick’s brilliant idea, or that she was a belligerent scientist, which is how Watson described her in his book The Double Helix. But thanks to Franklin’s biographer, who investigated her life and interviewed people close to her, we now know that that account is far from true, and her scientific contribution have been vastly underplayed. Let’s hear the real story of Rosalind Elsie Franklin, the woman who influenced the modern medicine and world by contributing the most in discovering the structure of DNA, coal and viruses.

In Time Magazine an article states On February 28 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick broke the DNA code and discovered that the DNA strand is double helix and forms like a ladder. They found that cytosine and guanine were paired together and that adenine and thymine were paired. They discovered the building block of life (Wright, 1999). DNA is found in all living organisms.

After the spike in DNA discoveries and confirmations that could be compared to the 1849 California gold rush, scientists began to try to find other uses for DNA. Since then, DNA has been used for many things such as finding criminals and confirming paternity/maternity. Also DNA has been used to track diseases and problems that start at the molecular level. Three of the newer advances in DNA technology are DNA Fingerprinting, Recombinant DNA (rDNA) and Paternity/Maternity Tests.

With this technology researchers have made significant headway in things like developing drugs and mapping DNA. GFP is used as a reporter of expression. Thus means that because of its fluorescence, researchers are able to visually see the gene of interest they are working with, without altering or hindering the gene in any way (Hans-Hermann, G., & Kaether C., 1996). GFP is especially useful in recombinant DNA technology because it allows us to see if the gene of interest we are trying to insert into a plasmid is being inserted into the right place. The GFP will not fluoresce if it is not placed properly (Prasher, D.,

“This is the best proof that DNA exists in a double helix structure, though it only shows it qualitatively.” I responded. It had long been a mystery at how DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, was regarded, and how it was able to perform actions, like translating, replicating, etc. on a large scale with minimal error. This was just the spark that we needed to finally comprehend the structure of DNA. Not long after, Crick and I

The quest for deoxyribonucleic acid was a search that had drawn out for quite a long time. The fame for the discovery of the structure of the double helix belonged to Watson and Crick, for they had debunked the mystery in 1953. Their finding denoted a milestone in the history of science. It also set the path for future biology studies. This study like all others, began with a solitary idea, a single experiment, which sparked future generations to follow the same path. This follows the fact that the scientific method is not linear, it is circular. Utilizing this, the two researchers, Watson and Crick, began with a purpose, collected background research on the topic, and created a hypothesis which led them to results that may or may not have

In April of 1953, Watson and Crick went public with their findings in a monumental journal article, which proclaimed DNA’s double helix.

Rosalind Franklin was a chemist who made a profound contribution as a result of her work with DNA. Prior to this time, DNA was still a mystery in how impactful its purpose could be to society and the growing age of science and technology. DNA became of importance to learn about the foundation in relation to genetic and hereditary. Without the contribution of Franklin, todays understanding of the DNA structure would not exist. Rosalind Franklin died before the Nobel Peace Prize was given for the discovery of DNA. If she been alive, her receipt of the award would have been justifiable. Despite her death, Rosalind Franklin demonstrated the knowledge and research essential for understanding deoxyribonucleic acid and as a result should receive recognition in the form of a Nobel Peace Prize.

The polymerase chain reaction is an innovative technology, which amplifies a single piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude. The end result is the creation of thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence.

1953, Watson and Crick discovered one of the biggest mysteries of the human body; the DNA