The DNA Double Helix/3

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In Naples.....

Watson confessed his ignorance about how to interpret X-ray diffraction results and wondered if there could be a place in their laboratory for a biologist who was willing to learn. Wilkins admitted that the King’s College DNA team was weak in the areas of nucleic acid biochemistry and genetics, but that Randall did all of the hiring.

Franklin goes on to crystallography meeting, sees Pauling

new camera ready by July, great pictures of A/B forms

Franklin listens to Stokes about helical patterns, they publish helix paper, show 1, 2, 3 chain models, all parallel backbone

Nov. 1951 Wilkins talks to Crick and Watson about helix, then Franklin shows high quality images taken that month. Watson is impressed and speaks to Franklin about model building- Franklin explains symmetry, phosphate outside based on B form data

Crick and Watson construct a double helix model like-to-like

Early 1952. Attack on the A form data to learn bases. Crick and Wilkins do uv absorption to determine base pairs. Watson and Franklin doing TMV

Double helix in 1952: Chargaff comes, looks at the model and tells them A:T G:C

Franklin stays at King’s, collaboration with Watson on TMV, continues DNA work

1961 Chemistry Nobel to Stokes, Wilkins and Franklin, Physiology to Chargaff, Crick and Watson

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