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Friedrich Miescher
Miescher was interested in cells, which were visible through a new invention, the microscope. He was a doctor so he already had some experience under his belt. In 1869, he isolated "nuclein" from cell nuclei. He was the first to identify DNA as a distinct molecule. He collected bandages from a nearby clinic and isolated the molecule nuclein from the from the cell nucleus from the pus on the bandage -
Frederick Griffith
Frederick Griffith was a British Bacteriologist in 1928. His experiment told us that bacteria can distinctly change their function and form through transformation. The two strains of bacteria he was studying were R (rough) strain and S (smooth) strain. -
Barbara McClintock
Barbara McClintock isolated two genes that she called "controlling elements". These genes controlled the genes that were equally responsible for pigmentation. These changes affected the behavior of neighboring genes. She suggested that these transposable elements were responsible for new mutations in pigmentation or other characteristics. -
Oswald Avery, Maclyn McCarty & Colin McCleod
They showed that DNA(not proteins) can transform the properties of cells, clarifying the chemical nature of genes. They were all bacteriologists studying streptococcus pneumonia when they discovered DNA was a "transforming principle". They inserted bacteria with DNA, proteins, lipids, or Carbohydrates all into different mice and the only mouse that died was the one that had DNA inserted into it. -
Erwin Chargaff
Erwin Chargaff is responsible for the creation of Chargaff's Rules. This rule states that the amounts of adenine and thymine in DNA are about the same, as are cytosine and guanine. It was because of this man, that we were able to create a new approach to the study biology and heredity. -
Alfred Hershey & Martha Chase
Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase concluded that DNA, not protein, was the genetic material. Alfred Hershey was then later on in his life rewarded with the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, for his wonderful discovery. -
Rosalind Franklin & Maurice Wilkins
Franklin was sent to kings college to work on and improve the X-Ray crystallography while Wilkins was already using it to try and solve the DNA problem. Franklin used two different fibers of DNA, one more highly hydrated then the other. From her pictures, she realized that the basic dimensions of DNA strands and that phosphates were on the outside of what was probably a helical structure. -
Linus Pauling
He used his knowledge of X-ray crystallography and understanding of chemistry to determine how amino acids fit together to make proteins. He eventually figured out the structure of the alpha helix of globular proteins by making models and working with jigsaw puzzles. -
James Watson & Francis Crick
James Watson and Francis Crick both discovered the double helix's twisted ladder structure that consists of deoxyribonucleic acid. This discovery was marked as one of the most major milestones in the history of biology. -
Matthew Meselson & Franklin Stahl
Matthew Meselson & Franklin Stahl conducted an experiment that heavily supported Watson and Crick's hypothesis. In their experiment, they proved that the semiconservative model of DNA replication was correct. It was referred to as "the most beautiful experiment in biology". -
Fredrick Sanger
While in the course of identifying amino acid groups he figured out ways to order the amino acids. He was the first scientist to obtain a protein sequence. This proved that the genes and DNA that make these proteins should have a sequence as well. Sanger choose to sequence the single-stranded DNA of a bacterial virus. -
Paul Berg
Paul Berg was an American biochemist that received the Nobel peace prize in chemistry for his contribution to the research of involving nucleic acid. He is often referred to as "the father of genetic engineering". He gets this title because he developed a way for joining the DNA from two different organelles. -
Kary Mullis
Known for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction, a simple technique that allows a specific stretch of DNA to be copied billions of times in a few hours. The four ingredients used in this process are a DNA template, two oligonucleotide primers, nucleotides, and a polymerase enzyme. These materials are heated and cooled, producing two molecules of double-stranded DNA. -
J. Craig Venter
J. Craig Venter is known for leading the first draft sequence of the human gene. Another thing he is very well known for is his discovery of Celera genomes. He then went on to create the Institute for genomic research.
