The Structure of DNA: Cooperation and Competition
PRACTICAL PROBLEM:
The question “How do living things pass on their traits to offspring” had long been on the minds of researchers.
CURIOSITY:
Curiosity was a trait of all those who wondered about that question. Gregor Mendel was just one of those people leading up to the four who discovered the structure of DNA.
The four people who discovered the structure of DNA built upon the EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY of others:
At the time of this discovery, the groundwork in DNA research had been prepared, beginning with the work of Gregor Mendel in the 19th century.
NEW TECHNOLOGY:
Later, in the decades of the 1940’s and 50’s, the understanding of DNA grew because of new technology.
DISCOVERY:
It was learned that DNA is made of phosphates, sugars, four bases and discovering that those bases are stacked .34 nanometers apart and that the DNA bases always occur in the same “A=T, C=G” ratios.
PERSONAL MOTIVATION:
Part of the motivation for those who discovered the structure of DNA is that there were other individuals and groups interested in answering the same questions about the way life works. It may have added a little pressure and excitement to the process.
MAURICE WILKINS, Nuclear physicist
Maurice built his career by becoming educated regarding the contributions and discoveries of others.
MOTIVATION:
Maurice wanted a change.
INSPIRATION:
He felt inspired with the same question, “How do living things pass on their
Understanding DNA can take a lot of studying and confusion to even get the general idea of the concept. The structure of DNA is very complicated and complex to understand, but researchers James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin all developed the idea of the DNA structure in 1953. Deoxyribonucleic Acid is found in the nucleus of the cell. It is a double stranded molecule that contains the genetic code and is the main component of chromosomes. DNA is the blueprint of organisms. Nucleotides are the basic unit of DNA and they are made up of sugar, phosphate, and one of the four basis including adenine,
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,
2. What role did James Watson & Francis Crick play in our understanding of DNA’s structure? They discovered the 3D structure.
Chapter 1: Genes can be demonstrated as “instruction books for making functional markers such as ribonucleic acid(RNA) and proteins”(Chapter 1, page 4). Distinctively, the four nitrogenous bases to code the gene of DNA is adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. In addition, Rosalind Franklin was among the primitive people to experiment with X rays as a form of molecular photography in order to learn more about DNA and its structure. The structure of DNA taught a constitutional fact about genetics; it stated that the two strands of DNA were complementary to each other. Moreover, DNA replicates in order to make new sets of
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.
DNA, Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the basic structure for all life, it is the blueprint, the instruction manual, on how to build a living organism. DNA is made up of four nitrogen bases, adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine which are connected by sugar-phosphate bonds. Through a process called Protein Synthesis, the nitrogen bases are the code for the creation of amino acids. Essentially, DNA makes amino acids, amino acids make proteins, proteins make organisms. This process has been taking place for much longer than scientists have been able to document. Those scientists are called geneticists and their field is genetics.
The origins of DNA were first discovered during 1857 by Gregor Mendel the "Father of Genetics”, whom was performing an experiment of genetics with pea plants, and would provide a basic foundation towards DNA and Genetics. Friedrich Miescher and Richard Altmann in 1869 were also part of the first people to discover DNA. While testing some sperm of a salmon, they discover a strange substance that they would name as "nuclein", which is known as DNA. This new form of "nuclein" (DNA) would be found to only exist in chromosomes. Frederick Griffith, a researcher, found the basis on DNA, from a molecule inheritance experiment involving mice and two types of pneumonia. His findings were that, when virulent disease is heated up (to kill) and is
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.
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.
Crick and Watson used X-ray diffraction data, which Rosalind Franklin developed which was then used to develop the ‘double
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.
In this paper I will be talking about Gregor Johann Mendel, who revolutionized the way we think about DNA, heredity, and of course genetics. His early life, discovers, and education will be talked about in this paper. His influence on biology will be mentioned in this paper as well.
The acronym DNA in the science world is well known. Many would even be able to say what it stands for: “Deoxyribonucleic Acid”. What is not as well known is who discovered DNA and what went on behind the scenes.
During that early era, Erwin Chargaff, a chemist from Austria-Hungary, contributed to the knowledge of DNA by establishing the rules of nitrogen base pairs. DNA holds nitrogen bases that bind with each other in a specific way. For example, two bases called adenine and thymine connect only with each other. The other two bases are guanine and cytosine, and they too bind only with each other. This base pair rule led scientists to believe that DNA had a helical structure, which was successfully reported by two biologists, James Watson and Francis Crick. Respectively, the scientists grew up in the U.S. and United Kingdom, and together, they created a lab report that credited them with the discovery and identification of DNA in 1953. Two men from different origins assisted each other to research DNA. Their work was significant to clarify the knowledge of biology, but it could not have been achieved without the discoveries made by preceding scientists. It is human nature for people to learn from each other’s work and achievements, regardless of their origin. Studying the success of others helps people uncover new knowledge, making them successful too. In terms of DNA research, scientists from different countries examined each other’s accomplishments, and one-by-one, they produced new information, bringing new light to biology.