watson and crick: their early years
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James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, which revolutionized the field of science and brought further discoveries. James Dewey Watson was born in Chicago. At the age of 15, Watson entered the University of Chicago under the gifted youngster program. He did well in courses that interested him, like biology and zoology. After his PhD in 1950, Watson spent time in Europe, first in Copenhagen and then at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. By now, Watson knew that DNA was the key to understanding life and he was determined to solve its structure. He was lucky to share an office with Francis Crick, a Ph.D. student who was also interested in the structure of DNA. Although both were supposed to be working on other projects, in 1953, they built the first accurate model of DNA.
the discovery of dna
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Watson and Crick used stick-and-ball models to test their ideas on the possible structure of DNA. It was Rosalind Franklin's, a former scientist, famous photograph that finally revealed the helical structure of DNA to Watson and Crick in 1953. This picture of DNA that had been crystallized under moist conditions shows a fuzzy X in the middle of the molecule, a pattern indicating a helical structure. Watson and Crick were then able to identify the base pairing and the double helix structure. Watson and Crick won the Nobel Prize for their scientific discovery, and launched the success of biology soon after.