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Oswald Avery
Oswald Avery discovers DNA as the material of which genes and chromosomes are made. He also discovers that DNA is the carrier of genes in cells. Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase furthered Avery's research in 1952 with the Hershey-Chase experiment. These experiments paved the way for Watson and Crick's discovery of the helical structure of DNA, and thus the birth of modern genetics and molecular biology -
Erwin Chargaff
He demonstrated three rules, now known as Chargaff's Rules, which state that in DNA:
1. the number of adenine (A) residues always equals the number of thymine (T) residues;
2. the number of guanine (G) residues always equals the number of cytosine (C) residues;
3. the number of purines (A+G) always equals the number of pyrimidines (T+C) He explained these findings to James Watson and Francis Crick, who were then able quickly to elucidate (clear up) the double-helix structure of DNA. -
Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin experimented DNA. She worked on the X-ray diffraction images of DNA, which led to the discovery of the DNA double helix. Francis Crick used her data and research to determine the structure of DNA. Franklin's image of DNA provided valuable insight into the DNA structure, but Franklin's scientific contributions to the discovery of the double helix are often overlooked. -
Crick & Watson
Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA. Rosalind discovered the crucial X-ray diffraction image of DNA labeled as "Photo 51", followed by her more clarified DNA image with Raymond Gosling. This had a major impact on the structure of DNA
