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P.A. Levene- Nucleotides
He characterized the different forms of nucleic acid, DNA from RNA, and found that DNA contained adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine, deoxyribose, and a phosphate group -
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Frederick Griffith
Performed the first major experiment that led to the discovery of DNA as the genetic material. He studied two strains of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia. He found that one strain could be transformed into the other form. -
Oswald Avery
Identified the molecule that transformed the R strain of bacteria into the S strain. Discovered that DNA is the material of which genes and chromosomes are made. -
Erwin Chargaff
Analyzed the amount of adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine in the DNA of various speices. He found that the amount of guanine nearly equals the amount of cytosine, and the amount of adenine nearly equals the amount of thymine within a species. -
Hershey and Chase Experiment
A series of experiments conducted by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase that helped to confirm that DNA was the genetic material. -
Rosalind Franklin – X-ray diffraction
She made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. The DNA work achieved the most fame because DNA plays essential roles in cell metabolism and genetics, and the discovery of its structure helped scientists understand how genetic information is passed from parents to children. -
James Watson-DNA structure
He proposed that the structure of DNA was a double helix and not a triple helix like Linus Pauling proposed. -
Francis Crick- DNA stucture
Along with James Watson, he discovered the structure of DNA. -
Maurice Wilkins
Along with James Watson and Francis Crick he helped discover the molecular structure of DNA -
Linus Pauling
He proposes that DNA was a triple helix and not a double helix.
