DNA: 50 years of double helix

50 years of the double helix.

IZINDABA An anniversary of major medical intere s t passed by virtually unnoticed last month. On 2 April 2003 it was exactly 50 years since the publication of a letter in the journal N a t u re by James Watson and Francis Crick 1. In it, they described the double helix molecular stru c t u re of deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) (Fig. 1), a publication which ushered in a new era in medicine. The t...

50 years before the double helix

Features 50 years before the double helix Guil Winchester " I may finally draw attention to the probability that the association of paternal and maternal chromosomes in pairs and their subsequent separation during the reducing division as indicated above may constitute the physical basis of the Mendelian law of heredity. To this subject I hope soon to return in another place. " 50 years before ...

The double helix 50 years on: models, metaphors, and reductionism.

Fifty Years of the Double Helix

This April it will be 50 years since the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA by Jim Watson and Francis Crick. Since then, the genomes of a wide range of bacteria, archaea, viruses and several eukaryotes have been entirely decoded, and the human genome is fast approaching completion. This issue illustrates the diversity of the field of genomics, which was born out of their discovery...

Watson and Crick 50 years on. From double helix to pharmacogenomics.

The second half of the 20th century has seen quantum leaps in our understanding of molecular biology. The technological advances, which facilitated the recent successful completion of the Human Genome Project, have provided the tools for deciphering the complexity of the human condition. At present, the function of only 50% of genes is known. However, as understanding of the human genome improv...