James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins all played a pivotal role in determining the structure of the DNA molecule. The orderly and methodical work at King’s college, London by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins provided a more experimental approach, working closely with X-ray diffraction images of DNA, this was juxtaposed to Watson and Cricks who at their Cambridge lab approached research by building physical models, narrowing down possibilities and producing ever so accurate pictures of the molecule. It was the culmination of the effort of these four scientists that resulted in the identification of the structure of DNA. Controversially it has been publicised that they did not all work together cooperatively
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They were able to identify that the structure of DNA was a double helix with the help of Rosalind Franklin and Wilkins X-ray diffraction patterns. Discovering the internal nitrogen base structure of the DNA and its alternating sugar-phosphate backbone was another crucial part of the puzzle which the Cavendish team created through many threads of information. Watson proposed many models including identical base pairing, proposing that adenine always paired with thymine, and guanine with cytosine. They suggested that when arranged at a certain angle, hydrogen bonds form between the pairs of bases. Once they had become aware of Chargaff’s results which he published in 1951 stating that the proportions of the bases in DNA showing a standard ratio: there was always the same proportion of adenine as thymine and of guanine as cytosine. Watson and Crick built scale models of the components of DNA and then attempted to fit them together in a way that would agree with the information from all these separate sources. Watson and Crick deduced that DNA had repeating structures (nucleotides), the DNA was of a constant width, and was double-stranded. All of this data went into their model of the DNA …show more content…
Collaboration and communication
Watson and Crick worked together as a team using the ideas of many other scientists to solve the puzzle that was DNA. Some of the other scientist’s ideas that Watson and Crick manipulated for their own model included:
• Erwin Chargaff’s work on nitrogen bases enabled Crick to suggest that these nitrogen bases were complimentary to one another (A – T, C – G). Publishing a paper about the proportions of the bases in DNA showing a standard ratio: there was always the same proportion of adenine as thymine and of guanine as cytosine.[13]
• Linus Pauling showed that proteins are arranged in a shape of a spring
They were able to identify that the structure of DNA was a double helix with the help of Rosalind Franklin and Wilkins X-ray diffraction patterns. Discovering the internal nitrogen base structure of the DNA and its alternating sugar-phosphate backbone was another crucial part of the puzzle which the Cavendish team created through many threads of information. Watson proposed many models including identical base pairing, proposing that adenine always paired with thymine, and guanine with cytosine. They suggested that when arranged at a certain angle, hydrogen bonds form between the pairs of bases. Once they had become aware of Chargaff’s results which he published in 1951 stating that the proportions of the bases in DNA showing a standard ratio: there was always the same proportion of adenine as thymine and of guanine as cytosine. Watson and Crick built scale models of the components of DNA and then attempted to fit them together in a way that would agree with the information from all these separate sources. Watson and Crick deduced that DNA had repeating structures (nucleotides), the DNA was of a constant width, and was double-stranded. All of this data went into their model of the DNA …show more content…
Collaboration and communication
Watson and Crick worked together as a team using the ideas of many other scientists to solve the puzzle that was DNA. Some of the other scientist’s ideas that Watson and Crick manipulated for their own model included:
• Erwin Chargaff’s work on nitrogen bases enabled Crick to suggest that these nitrogen bases were complimentary to one another (A – T, C – G). Publishing a paper about the proportions of the bases in DNA showing a standard ratio: there was always the same proportion of adenine as thymine and of guanine as cytosine.[13]
• Linus Pauling showed that proteins are arranged in a shape of a spring