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DNA's family tree

Nature (2003)Cite this article

Tom Clarke retraces the path that led Watson and Crick to the double helix, and others to put their discovery to use.

In 1869, the Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher was treating the wounded in the Crimean War. Studying the pus in casualties' bandages, he discovered a large molecule in the nucleus of cells, which he christened 'nuclein'. He went on to study the molecule in salmon sperm, and even suggested that it might be involved with the genetic code.

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References

  1. Watson, J. D. & Crick, F. H. C. A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature, 171, 737 - 738, (1953).

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  1. Tom Clarke
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 University of Pittsburgh

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Clarke, T. DNA's family tree. Nature (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/news030421-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news030421-5

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