1953
was an annus mirabilis for science. Here,
we present five classic papers from Nature that describe and provide evidence
for the double helix being the structure of DNA, and one from The Journal of
Experimental Medicine that has been described as the "defining moment in nucleic
acid research".
A
Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid Watson J.D.
and Crick F.H.C. Nature171, 737-738 (1953)
April
25, 1953: James Watson and Francis Crick's classic paper that first describes
the double helical structure of DNA. With some understatement they note that the
structure “suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material”.
April 25, 1953: From the same issue, Wilkins, Stokes and
Wilson analyse the X-Ray crystallography evidence, and suggest evidence that the
structure exists in biological systems.
Molecular
Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate Franklin
R. and Gosling R.G. Nature171, 740-741 (1953)
April
25, 1953: Rosalind Franklin and Ray Gosling provide further evidence of the
helical nature of nucleic acids, and conclude that the phosphate backbone lies
on the outside of the structure.
Studies
on the chemical nature of the substance inducing transformation of Pneumococcal
types Avery, O.T., MacLeod, C.M. & McCarty, M. J. Exp. Med.79, 137-159 (1944)
February 1, 1944:
In this classic paper from the Journal of Experimental Medicine, Mac McCarty's
team showed for the first time that DNA is the material of inheritance, the so-called
stuff of life. Until then, biologists thought that 'genes', the units of inheritance,
were made of protein.
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