360The structure of DNA is revealed
On 25 April 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published the double-helix structure of DNA in the journal Nature, using X-ray images made by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. The discovery explained how living things store and copy genetic information, and it opened the way to modern genetics and medicine.
By the 1950s, scientists knew that DNA carried genetic information, but not how. At King's College London, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins used X-rays to study DNA's shape. Franklin's famous image, known as Photo 51, suggested a spiral structure.
At the University of Cambridge, James Watson and Francis Crick built models to fit the evidence. They proposed two strands twisted around each other like a ladder, with pairs of chemical bases forming the rungs. A always pairs with T, and C with G.
Their paper appeared in Nature on 25 April 1953, alongside papers by Franklin and Wilkins. It noted that the pairing suggested how DNA could copy itself.
Watson, Crick and Wilkins received the 1962 Nobel Prize. Franklin had died in 1958, and Nobel Prizes are not awarded after death. The discovery led to genetic testing, DNA fingerprinting and the sequencing of the human genome in 2003.
- May 1952
- Franklin's team records Photo 51
- 25 April 1953
- Double helix published
- 1962
- Nobel Prize awarded
- 2003
- Human genome sequenced
Sources: Nature · Nobel Prize · King's College London.