Biology & Genetics · 1953
Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid
James D. Watson, Francis H. C. Crick
Overview
The one-page paper that proposed the double-helix structure of DNA. Watson and Crick described two helical chains coiled around a common axis, with bases paired in the interior — a structure that immediately suggested how genetic information is copied.
Revealed the molecular basis of heredity and founded molecular biology.
Key findings
Methods
Model building constrained by X-ray diffraction data — notably Rosalind Franklin's and Maurice Wilkins's images — together with Chargaff's base-ratio rules and the stereochemistry of nucleotides.
Keywords
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