Which scientists are credited with building the first accepted DNA model in 1953?

Which scientists are credited with building the first accepted DNA model in 1953?

• A. Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace
• B. James Watson and Francis Crick
• C. Linus Pauling and Erwin Chargaff
• D. Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins

Answer: (B)

DNA's structure explains how genetic information is stored and copied. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick proposed the first accepted model of DNA as a double helix, showing how its shape could explain replication. They used Chargaff’s rules—A pairs with T and C pairs with G—and essential data from X-ray diffraction studies by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins to deduce a helix with a sugar-phosphate backbone on the outside and base pairs inside. This arrangement means each strand can serve as a template for a new complementary strand, enabling accurate replication of the genetic sequence. Franklin’s diffraction images were crucial to guiding the model, and while she contributed key data, Watson and Crick are the ones credited with building and publishing the first widely accepted DNA structure.

DNA's structure explains how genetic information is stored and copied. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick proposed the first accepted model of DNA as a double helix, showing how its shape could explain replication. They used Chargaff’s rules—A pairs with T and C pairs with G—and essential data from X-ray diffraction studies by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins to deduce a helix with a sugar-phosphate backbone on the outside and base pairs inside. This arrangement means each strand can serve as a template for a new complementary strand, enabling accurate replication of the genetic sequence. Franklin’s diffraction images were crucial to guiding the model, and while she contributed key data, Watson and Crick are the ones credited with building and publishing the first widely accepted DNA structure.