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History of DNA
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Gregor Mendel
In 1863 Mendel did an experiment on genetics using peas, through this experiment he discovered how genes work which explained problems with current theories at the time. His work used a lot of mathematics, and because of this his work was not recognised or taken seriously by the community until many years after he had died. Mendel's work led the way for much new research in the field of biology. -
Friedrich Miescher
Miescher was the scientist to first isolate and identify nucleic acid, which paved the way for the discovery of DNA. -
Frederick Griffith
Griffith's mouse experiment allowed others to point out that DNA was a molecule of inheritance. -
Oswald Avery
Avery continued Griffith's work to discover that DNA was the inherited molecule. -
Erwin Chargaff
In 1950, Chargaff's work in DNA led him to discover than in DNA the number of adenines approximately equaled the number of thymines, and the number of guanines approximately equaled the number of cytosines. The G=C and A=T equalities later became known as Chargaff's rules. Chargaff also contributed to the discovery of the Double Helix structure of DNA. -
James Watson
In 1953, James Watson, along with Francis Crick, officially discovered the double helix structure of DNA. -
Francis Crick
In 1953, Francis Crick co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA along with James Watson. He also played a major role in the revealing of the genetic code. -
Maurice Wilkins
Maurice Wilkins, along with James Watson and Francis Crick, discovered the double helix structure of DNA. -
Rosiland Franklin
Rosiland Franklin was an X-ray crystallographer whose work was used by Watson and Crick in 1953 to discover the double helix structure of DNA. She was going to be awarded a nobel prize for her work, but died of cancer before it could be presented.