DNA Researchers

  • Friedrich Miescher

    He is known for his discovery of Nuclein. He was first to recognize DNA as its own distinct molecule. He created the tetranucleotide theory which turned out to be incorrect.
  • Frederick Griffith

    His experiment revealed the transforming principle. This later led to the discovery that DNA is the carrier of genetic information. He went to the university of liverpool
  • Barbara McClintock

    She studied chromosome breakage which led her to discover a chromosome-breaking locus that could change its position within a chromosome. She went to Cornell University.
  • Oswald Avery, Maclyn McCarty & Colin McCleod

    They proved that DNA can transform the properties of cells using strains of bacteria. They found what are now known as genes. They isolated DNA as which genes and chromosomes are made from.
  • Erwin Chargaff

    He discovered that the number of cytosine units matched the number of guanine units, and the number of thymine units matched the adenine he helped figure out the structure of DNA farther. The Chargaff rules were named after him.
  • Alfred Hershey & Martha Chase

    They proved that proteins carry genetic information. They did this by tracking the transfer of proteins and DNA from the virus to its host. They concluded protein was not a genetic material and DNA was
  • Rosalind Franklin & Maurice Wilkins

    Rosalind Franklin obtained images of DNA using X-ray crystallography. This idea was first used byMaurice Wilkins. Her images allowed James Watson and Francis Crick to create their famous double-helix model. Rosalind Franklin did not purposefully give them the images
  • James Watson & Frances Crick

    They worked together studying DNA. They took various information together to create their famous double-helix model. Watson made a book on his experiences later in life. They were not really friends even after working together for so long
  • Frederick Sanger

    He was the first person to obtain a protein sequence. He then proved that proteins were ordered molecules and by analogy, the genes and DNA that make these proteins should have an order or sequence too. He won his first Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1958 for his work on the structure of protein
  • Matthew Meselson & Franklin Stahl

    Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl invented the technique of density gradient centrifugation and used this to prove that DNA is replicated semi-conservatively. This supported Watson and crick's hypothesis.
  • Linus Pauling

    He discovered the spiral structure of proteins. Pauling helped the future of genetics by providing information that could eventually help prevent genetic disorders. He was also a peace activist.
  • Paul Berg

    He created the first DNA molecule made of parts from different organisms. This type of molecule became known as hybrid DNA. He served on a submarine during WWII.
  • Kary Mullis

    He invented the process known as polymerase chain reaction, in which a small amount of DNA can be copied in larger amounts over a short period of time.
  • J. Craig Venter

    He is known for leading the first draft sequence of the human genome and assembled the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome