The Discovery of DNA-Villanueva,Carlos

Friedrich Miescher

1869

Friedrich Miescher was the first person to identify DNA as a molecule. He successfully isolated “nuclein”, DNA with associated proteins, from the nuclei of the cell. I find that he was best known for his incorrect tetranucleotide hypothesis of DNA interesting.

Frederick Griffith

1928

Frederick Griffith was the first to reveal the “transforming principle” which led to the discovery that DNA acts as the carrier of genetic information. Griffith used rats as test subjects,injected them with different bacteria plus heat and observed the reactions. I find it interesting that he died before learning the truth about the transforming substance which is the DNA.

Oswald Avery, Maclyn McCarty, and Colin McCleod

1944

They proved that DNA can transform the properties of cells, clarifying the chemical nature of genes. Avery, McCarty and McCleod continued the experiments of Frederick Griffith. I find it interesting that they discovered this after studying just one bacteria.

Erwin Chargaff

1949

Erwin Chargaff had several discoveries. One of his discoveries was called the Chargaff's rule which means equal amounts of adenine and thymine; cytosine and guanine . Chargaff used paper chromatography on his experiments. I find it interesting that he teamed up with Watson and Crick to discover the double helix.

Rosalind Franklin and Maurice WIlkins

1951

Maurice Wilkins was an expert in the field of optical spectroscopy which he used to study DNA. Rosalind Franklin uses X-ray crystallography to study the structure of DNA. Rosalind Franklin came up with a photo that will change everything; the picture was named “Photo 51” which helped in building the right structure for DNA. I find it interesting how dedicated Rosalind Franklin is at her work to study DNA.

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase

1952

Hershey and Chase conducted a series of experiments to prove that DNA was a genetic material. They demonstrate that DNA was transferred from bacteriophages to bacteria, a discovery that confirmed DNA holds genetic information. I find it interesting that people back then really thought that proteins contain all the genetic material.

Linus Pauling

1953

Linus Pauling published an article called “Nucleic Acids” containing the suggested DNA structure. Though the model was incorrect, it helped scientists to understand DNA’s structure and function as genetic material. Pauling relied on X-ray diffraction patterns to build his version of DNA structure. I find the fact that scientists know it was incorrect when they still do not know the real structure of DNA interesting.

Matthew Maselson and Franklin Stahl

1958

Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl proved that DNA is replicated semi-conservatively by a technique they invented which is the density gradient centrifugation. I find the technique they used that led to their discovery interesting.

James Watson and Francis Crick

1968

James Watson and Francis Crick published a book called “Double Helix”. The book is about the discovery of the twisted ladder structure of DNA. They gathered information and solved the mystery of DNA structure themselves. I find it interesting that even though Rosalind Franklin's finding helped them but still did not give her credit in the book she deserves

Paul Berg

1972

Paul Berg is a Nobel prize winner for his work in creating a “hybrid DNA” by successfully inserting DNA from bacteria into the virus’ DNA. This discovery made a path for scientists to create a bacteria that produces substances that are used in medicine. I find how he made DNA consists of parts from different organisms interesting.

Frederick Sanger

1980

Frederick Sanger won a Nobel prize for his discovery of protein sequencing and DNA sequencing. Sanger and his team investigated the ways to sequence a smaller version of DNA which is RNA, this led to techniques that were applicable to DNA and finally to the dideoxy method to discover the protein sequencing. I find the dideoxy method interesting and I want to learn more about it.

Barbara McClintock

1983

Barbara McClintock discovered a chromosome-breaking locus that could change its position within a chromosome. She observed corn’s characteristics for twenty six years. She studied how the characteristics changed through generations and connected it to the plants’ chromosome. I find that she studied corn for twenty six years very interesting.

Kary Mulis

1985

Kary Mulis is a Nobel prize winner for his work in inventing the
process known as polymerase chain reaction. This process can copy a small amount of DNA into large proportions in just a short period of time. When asked in an interview about the spanish flu, He predicted that something like it would happen again and it did. I find that interesting.

J.Craig-Venter

2003

J.Craig Venter is known for his work of sequencing the human genome and assembled the first team to transfect a cell with synthetic chromosomes. One interesting fact about him was that he served in the Vietnam War as a part of the U.S Naval Medical Corps.