Race for the Double Helix 3 AuthorSTREAM

Slide 1: 

Class Notes On The Main Characters from the Race for the Double Helix Slides created by Honors Genetics Classes

James D. Watson : 

James D. Watson April 6, 1928 – Nationality: English, Scottish, Irish

Educational Background : 

Educational Background James received a B.Sc and a Ph.D in Zoology from Indiana University As a boy James Watson spent eight years at Horace Mann Grammar school in Chicago, and two years at South Shore High School In the summer of 1943, James received a scholarship to the University of Chicago In 1950, James spent a year in Copenhagen, as a member of the National Research Council He began work at the Cavendish laboratory in October of 1952 For two years Waston attended the California Institute of Technology as a Senior Research Fellow in Biology In 1955 Watson returned to Cavendish and worked with crick, publishing several papers on the principals of virus construction In 1956 Watson began working at Harvard, and is still involved there

Watson and Crick : 

Watson and Crick

Personal Life : 

Personal Life James Watson was born on April 6, 1928 in Chicago, the city where he lived for the beginning of his life Watson had a deep interest in bird watching and he did so throughout most of his life Watson’s interest in bird watching lead to an even deeper interest in understanding genetics James married former Elizabeth Lewis and had two sons, named Rufus and Duncan Watson’s recreational activities were walking and bird watching, both which he still enjoys doing

Research Focus : 

Research Focus First effort in constructing DNA model in 1951 (was unsatisfactory) Second effort based upon experimental evidence of the nucleic acid literature which resulted in the proposal of complementary double helical configuration At the same time, Watson was investigating the structure of TMV(a virus), using X-ray diffraction techniques. The purpose of this was to determine if its sub-units were helically arranged Watson and Crick suggested that the model was made of two chains of nucleotides, each in a helix, but biparallel. Matching base pairs interlocked in the middle of the double helix to keep the distance between the chain constant Watson worked on the Human Genome Project from 1988 to 1992 Then he continued his research on Cold Springs Harbor before becoming the head of the institution in 1994

Watson and Crick with DNA model : 

Watson and Crick with DNA model

Slide 8: 

Francis Harry Compton crick Born on June 8th, 1916, at Northampton, England Oldest child of Harry Crick and Annie Elizabeth Wilkins. He has one brother, A.F. Crick, who is a doctor in New Zealand. During the war he worked as a scientist for the British Admiralty, mainly in connection with magnetic and acoustic mines. He left the Admiralty in 1947 to study biology.

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Background Continued : 

Background Continued Crick was forced to stop because of the war in 1939. He began working for the British Admiralty with magnetic and acoustic mines. In 1947, he left to study Biology.

Scientific Characteristics : 

Scientific Characteristics Watson is wifty. Although he is very dedicated to finding the structure of the model of DNA his work didn’t compare to that of Rosalind Frank’s. Watson “went around” with crick and collected information to deduce the final structure of DNA Watson enjoyed his job and felt joy in doing his experiments, but he also enjoyed having a good time at social gatherings and such.

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Watson receiving his Nobel prize

Slide 13: 

Thanks to financial help by his family and a studentship from the Medical Research Council, Crick began working in Strangeways Research Laboratory. Shortly after he joined the Medical Research Council Unit and studied molecular biology. He eventually obtained a Ph.D in 1954 after his studies with polypeptides and proteins. In 1947, Crick knew no biology, no organic chemistry, and practically no crystallography, so much of the next years was spent learning these subjects. Throughout the next few years, Crick worked with W. Cochran and V. Vand, figuring out the general theory of x-ray diffraction of the helix as he grew more knowledgeable in these fields. Francis Harry Compton Crick

Educational Background : 

Educational Background Francis Harry Compton Crick was educated at Northampton Grammer School and Mill Hill School, London. He furthered his education on physics at University College, London, where he obtained a B.Sc. In 1937. He began doing research for a Ph.D. under Prof E. N. da C. Andrade.

Slide 15: 

Because of his education, experience, and hard work, Francis Harry Compton Crick was able to be apart of a team who helped discover one of the largest mysteries of life. That discovery was DNA. Adenine Cytosine Guanine Thymine