The fight to discover the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid continues in James Watson’s The Double Helix. Linus Pauling thought he had discovered the structure of the acid, but in fact he had come with an incorrect structure that did not represent an acid at all. The basis of Pauling’s model consisted of a three-chain helix in which the sugar-phosphate backbone resided in the center of the molecule. The phosphate groups in this theoretical structure were not ionized. Instead, each phosphate group had a hydrogen atom bound to it, which added a positive charge to each group, leading to each phosphate group to have a net charge of zero. However, the definition of an acid goes against this as an acid should have a positive charge, as Watson very
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He knew that “phosphate groups never contained bound hydrogen atoms” (160). Therefore, the structure could not exist because without these hydrogen atoms bonding the three chains together, the entire structure would fall apart. When Sir Lawrence Bragg saw the paper that this information was published in, he put the paper aside. Bragg knew that Watson and Crick were both very excited about DNA, but Bragg did not particularly care for Crick and did not want to excite him with the news of potential updates in DNA structure. Bragg was afraid of inspiring Crick to resume research in DNA structure rather than complete his thesis for his Ph.D., and thus no longer being under Bragg’s tutelage. By focusing on DNA, Crick would be more likely to extend his research in Cambridge, and that was Bragg’s …show more content…
Jerry Donohue was an American crystallographer whose knowledge of chemistry proved vital to the search for DNA structure. In a prior model of DNA, Watson used the tautomeric form of the nitrogenous bases because many organic chemistry textbooks depicted the nitrogenous bases in this form or in the enol form. However, according to Donohue, it would be highly unlikely to have the tautomeric or enol forms of the nitrogenous bases. Donohue suggested using the keto form of the nitrogenous bases instead, claiming that the crystal form and quantum-mechanical arguments supported the keto form. This form allowed Watson to experiment more with the bonding between the bases to see which way the bases would fit together in order to form the correct width of the molecule. Watson eventually ended up pairing adenine with thymine and cytosine with guanine, and Donohue checked this theory to confirm that these pairings made sense chemically. Without Donohue’s chemical knowledge, the discovery of DNA structure might have been greatly delayed.
A great amount of careful work and a broad range of knowledge was essential to determining the structure of DNA. Watson’s book The Double Helix portrayed all of the emotions that accompanied the journey to the discovery. It was very impressive how well Watson made the reader feel frustrated when the research came to a stand-still, or excited when a break through
He knew that “phosphate groups never contained bound hydrogen atoms” (160). Therefore, the structure could not exist because without these hydrogen atoms bonding the three chains together, the entire structure would fall apart. When Sir Lawrence Bragg saw the paper that this information was published in, he put the paper aside. Bragg knew that Watson and Crick were both very excited about DNA, but Bragg did not particularly care for Crick and did not want to excite him with the news of potential updates in DNA structure. Bragg was afraid of inspiring Crick to resume research in DNA structure rather than complete his thesis for his Ph.D., and thus no longer being under Bragg’s tutelage. By focusing on DNA, Crick would be more likely to extend his research in Cambridge, and that was Bragg’s …show more content…
Jerry Donohue was an American crystallographer whose knowledge of chemistry proved vital to the search for DNA structure. In a prior model of DNA, Watson used the tautomeric form of the nitrogenous bases because many organic chemistry textbooks depicted the nitrogenous bases in this form or in the enol form. However, according to Donohue, it would be highly unlikely to have the tautomeric or enol forms of the nitrogenous bases. Donohue suggested using the keto form of the nitrogenous bases instead, claiming that the crystal form and quantum-mechanical arguments supported the keto form. This form allowed Watson to experiment more with the bonding between the bases to see which way the bases would fit together in order to form the correct width of the molecule. Watson eventually ended up pairing adenine with thymine and cytosine with guanine, and Donohue checked this theory to confirm that these pairings made sense chemically. Without Donohue’s chemical knowledge, the discovery of DNA structure might have been greatly delayed.
A great amount of careful work and a broad range of knowledge was essential to determining the structure of DNA. Watson’s book The Double Helix portrayed all of the emotions that accompanied the journey to the discovery. It was very impressive how well Watson made the reader feel frustrated when the research came to a stand-still, or excited when a break through