Significance of Discoveries in Genetics and DNA
Significance of Discoveries in Genetics and DNA
Robert Pride
South University (Richmond)
DNA- (deoxyribonucleic acid) the molecule that genes are made of. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick made the announcement that they had discovered the secret of life. They made this announcement in a pub in Cambridge. He was referring to the double helix of DNA. The discovery was the result of work put in by a large group of scientist but pieced together by both men who ultimately received most of the credit for the framework. Knowledge of DNA by scientists came to light as early as 1868 when Fritz Miescher, a Swiss physician discovered its presence in the nuclei of cells. Scientists had previously believed that Proteins were the carriers of genetic material until the study of the structure of DNA led to the discovery of its function. Even though the chemical composition of DNA was common knowledge, scientists were unable to determine its functionality. Crick presented his paper at the society for Experimental Biology in 1958 and stated that “It [was] an essential feature of [his] argument that in biology proteins are uniquely important… with their nearest rivals being nucleic acids”. What stands out most about nucleic acids is that we are not aware of what they do and by contrast the significance of proteins is that they can do almost anything. From this statement the two furthered their investigation of the mysteries of life by diving deeper into others work and revisiting their own. Their discovery led to their names being recognized world-wide and the subsequent development of the field of molecular biology. Their article brought to light the genetic function of DNA through the study of its structure. They came up with a model that demonstrated how deoxyribonucleic acid could contain long, coded messages. The coded patterns granted all traits in living organisms to be carried on from generation to generation, untangling a puzzle that had
Robert Pride
South University (Richmond)
DNA- (deoxyribonucleic acid) the molecule that genes are made of. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick made the announcement that they had discovered the secret of life. They made this announcement in a pub in Cambridge. He was referring to the double helix of DNA. The discovery was the result of work put in by a large group of scientist but pieced together by both men who ultimately received most of the credit for the framework. Knowledge of DNA by scientists came to light as early as 1868 when Fritz Miescher, a Swiss physician discovered its presence in the nuclei of cells. Scientists had previously believed that Proteins were the carriers of genetic material until the study of the structure of DNA led to the discovery of its function. Even though the chemical composition of DNA was common knowledge, scientists were unable to determine its functionality. Crick presented his paper at the society for Experimental Biology in 1958 and stated that “It [was] an essential feature of [his] argument that in biology proteins are uniquely important… with their nearest rivals being nucleic acids”. What stands out most about nucleic acids is that we are not aware of what they do and by contrast the significance of proteins is that they can do almost anything. From this statement the two furthered their investigation of the mysteries of life by diving deeper into others work and revisiting their own. Their discovery led to their names being recognized world-wide and the subsequent development of the field of molecular biology. Their article brought to light the genetic function of DNA through the study of its structure. They came up with a model that demonstrated how deoxyribonucleic acid could contain long, coded messages. The coded patterns granted all traits in living organisms to be carried on from generation to generation, untangling a puzzle that had
References: Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology, 4/e for EDMC Retrieved from https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/9781256902089/pages/61126341 The DNA Story Retrieved from http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2003/April/story.asp