DNA double-helix structure
Estructura de doble hélice del ADN
- Date
- 1953 · confidence high
- Place
- Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom; diffraction data from King's College, London
- Credited to
- James Watson and Francis Crick, with data from Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins
- People
- 👤 Francis Crick1916–2004👤 James Dewey Watson1928–2025👤 Maurice Wilkins1916–2004
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A model of the molecule of heredity as two complementary strands coiled together, which immediately explained how genetic information is copied. It founded molecular biology.
The use of Franklin's Photo 51 without her full knowledge remains a matter of historical controversy. Merged with "Estructura en doble hélice del ADN" (duplicate, 23-09-2026).
What it led to
- The genetic code, genetic engineering and biotechnology
- Genetic diagnosis, personalised medicine and genomics
- Forensic and paternity DNA testing
- semiconservative replication (Meselson-Stahl, 1958)
- the genetic code and the central dogma
- genetic engineering and sequencing
- genomic medicine and biotechnology
Built on
- X-ray diffraction (crystallography)1912–1913
- Hershey-Chase experiment1952
- Chargaff's rules
- Avery and Hershey-Chase (experiments)
- X-ray diffraction by Franklin and Wilkins
- Pauling's modelling
Made possible
- Polynucleotide phosphorylase and in vitro RNA synthesis1955
- Central dogma of molecular biology1957-1958
- Discovery of RNA polymerase1960
- Genetic code cracked1961-1966
- Discovery of Okazaki fragments1968
- Recombinant DNA genetic engineering1973
- Sanger DNA sequencing1977
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)1983
- DNA fingerprinting1984
- CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing2012
- Sanger sequencing