James D. Watson

Francis Harry Compton Crick, is known by all to have received a nobel prize in physiology or medicine for his contributions in the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA, and its structure. Although his accomplishments are incredible, the journey to them were even more so. Crick was born on june 8th in 1916 to a small town of Weston Favell, Northamptonshire located in the United Kingdom. Here Crick attended Northampton Grammar School, as a young boy. Later, Crick and his family…

Influential People who contributed to Genetics: James Watson: James Dewey Watson is a Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist and researcher, who is credited with co-discovering the the double-helix structure of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1953 with Francis Crick. Crick and Watson’s first efforts towards learning the structure of the DNA came up with many attempts, but it eventually concluded in the spring of 1953. Their research portrayed the DNA model pulling forth the double-helical…

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…

How do we know that genes are made of DNA? In the 1920s, scientists agreed that genes are located on chromosomes, and they already knew that DNA and proteins make up chromosomes. They assumed that genes were made of proteins because DNA is chemically simple and proteins are not, but this was proven to be wrong. In the late 1920s, a great discovery was made by Fred Griffith while studying Streptococcus pneumonia (pneumococcus). He found that pneumococci come in a pathogenic form and a harmless…

Most of us never think about the food we eat. How is it made? Where does it come from? What exactly is in it? Is it safe to eat? Sometimes the best answer to those questions is no answer at all. Some of us may not even care, some will. It’s all about the perspective of the person. No answer is wrong. In the book The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan writes about a potato called the NewLeaf. The NewLeaf potato isn’t like any other kind of ordinary potato. It’s a genetically engineered potato that…

Corporate branding activities aimed at a variety of stakeholders are devised to gain trust, and build a strong reputation among the group. Strategic initiative toward corporate branding is especially true when scandals or allegations of unethical practices are suggested. In order to secure a strong corporate reputation, the company must succeed in delivering a quality product, financial success, social responsibility, and strong executive leadership (Ferrell, Hartline, 2014). Monsanto has had…

In the movie GATTACA, which takes place some time in the future, it is considered normal for parents to visit doctors who specialized in child conception in order to select the best traits for their children. While the majority of the human race in GATTACA chose to rely on doctors specializing in child conception in order to determine the traits of their child, there are those who still use the “old” and natural way of conceiving. Some would say that “playing God” for their children would be…

When it comes to determining the ethicality for a human being to alter a fellow human’s DNA in the hopes of eradicating genetic disorders, every individual is going to have a different opinion on the matter. This idea is observed in the two articles; “Gene Therapy: Human Germline Genetic Modifications– Assessing the Scientific, Socio-ethical and Religious Issues” by Qiana Matthews, PhD and David Curiel, MD, PhD and “Gene Therapy: Theoretical and Bioethics Concepts” written by Kevin Smith, PhD.…

Genetic engineering is an alluring and powerful branch of science and technology. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines genetic engineering as, “the group of applied techniques of genetics and biotechnology used to cut up and join together genetic material...from one or more species of organism and to introduce the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its characteristics”. Genetic engineering has led to some of the most remarkable advancements in agriculture and medicine.…

Food Biotechnology is a process by which foods are created or modified to enhance crop production, nutritional value, safety, and/or taste. These foods are considered genetically engineered (GE), or genetically modified (GM). Genetic engineering modifies the genetic material of living cells to produce new substances or perform new functions. As with most “new” technological advances, genetic engineering has its advantages and disadvantages and is currently a hot topic of debate with regard to…