A Timeline on the Discovery of DNA

By GRivero
  • The Basics of Genetics

    By conducting experiments on pea plants, Gregor Mendel uncovered the basics of inheritance in genetics and created the terms "dominant" and "recessive" in relation to inherited traits.
  • Identification of the DNA Molecule

    In the 1860s, Swiss chemist Johann Friedrich Miescher identified the DNA molecule while carrying out experiments intended to help him study the components of white blood cells.
  • The Five Nucleotide Bases

    Albrecht Kossel gave DNA its current name (deoxyribonucleic acid) and identified the nucleotide bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine and uracil.
  • Chromosomes and Inheritance

    During the 1900s, German anatomist Walther Flemming discovered chromosomes and the process of mitosis.
  • More Discoveries on Inheritance

    In his 1902 study, Walter Sutton discovered more information about inheritance. Said information included the presence of chromosomes in meiosis and the contribution of chromosomes to inheritance.
  • Connecting Mendel's Theory with Disease

    Archibald Edward Garrod studied alkaptonuria, a human disorder, and connected it with Mendel's theory of dominant and recessive traits.
  • Structure of DNA

    James Watson and Francis Crick discover the structure of DNA via X-ray data and model building: and thus learn about DNA's double-helix shape.
  • Sequencing Bases

    Marshall Nirenberg discovered how to sequence bases in DNA codons. He won the Nobel Prize for this.
  • DNA Sequencing Techniques

    Frederick Sanger was the first person to order amino acids in order to create a protein sequence.
  • Human Genome Project

    The Human Genome Project (which aimed to create a high-quality sequence of the human genome) was completed. The form contains 2.85 billion nucleotides, and an estimated error rate of 1 in 100,000 bases.