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Friedrich Miescher
Friedrich Miescher isolated nuclein of white blood cells using asociated proteins from cell nuclei. He was the first to identify DNA as a distinct molecule. He was struck with typhoid fever leaving him hearing impaired, and thought it would be an inconvenience to him as a doctor, so he turned to physiological chemistry. -
Frederick Griffith
Frederick Griffith changed good bacteria into bad bacteria and tested it on mice to find out what it did to them, which was killed them. He proved that bacteria can get DNA through a process called transformation. This whole experiment began when he was trying to make a vaccine to prevent pneumonia. -
Oswald Avery, Maclyn McCarty & Colin McCleod
They proved Griffith's experiment by discovering that the change only happen with DNA, not carbohydrates, lipids. or proteins. This means that the RNA, lipids and anything not rich in nucleic acid did not have this transforming property. Avery joined the staff at the Rockefeller institute hospital in NYC o work on research for this experiment. -
Barbara McClintock
Barbara McClintock discovered that genes were capable of changing positions on a chromosome. This led to the discovery of mobile elements known as transposons. McClintock won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1980 for her discoveries. -
Erwin Chargaff
Erwin Chargaff discovered nitrogenous base pairing with adenine and thymine; cytosine and guanine. Using pioneer biochemist groundwork to spark his research he discovered Adenine and Thymine; Cytosine and Guanine always have the same amount in DNA no matter what. His discoveries where called Chargaff's rule. -
Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase
They used radioisotopes to discover that DNA is a molecule of action. This proved proved that DNA provided genetic information, not proteins because in their experiment the DNA was transferred to the bacteria. This discovery stimulated further research including Watsons and Cricks discovery of the double helix. -
Linus Pauling
Linus Pauling used crystallography in order to come to the conclusion on the structure DNA. He believed is was three strands in a roselike fashion which was later proved wrong. He was awarded the 1954 Nobel prize for his research for chemical bonds and complex structures. -
James Watson & Francis Crick
They discovered the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Their model explained how DNA replicates and how hereditary information is coded on it. -
Rosalind Franklin & Maurice Wilkins
Franklin used Xray crystallography of DNA along with shared information from Wilkins showing the double helix Structure of DNA. This photo was called Photo 51. Photo 51 was the base for Watson and Crick's research and discoveries which they received a Nobel prize for. -
Matthew Meselson & Franklin Stahl
They discovered semiconservative DNA replication. This process shows that DNA replicates by "unzipping" and forming two new strands. This also confirmed the Watson and Crick model in 1953. -
Paul Berg
Paul Berg assembled the first molecule of recombinant DNA. rDNA is a DNA molecule that combines genes from different organisms. This was a crucial step in the development of genetic engineering. -
Frederick Sanger
Frederick Sanger first started investigating ways to sequence RNA. His discoveries ultimately lead to the creation of the dideoxy method, which is used for DNA sequencing. His discoveries won him a Nobel prize in 1980. -
Kary Mullis
Kary Mullis invented the Polymerase Chain Reaction This technology is used for rapidly multiplying DNA fragments. -
J Craig Venter
Craig Venter began the race to sequence the human genome. He also assembled the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome.
