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Miescher
Miescher was the first one to originally discover and isolate the existence of the macromolecule DNA. Before Miescher, we did not know that DNA existed. And thanks to him, a plethora of experiments were run to eventually discover what we know about DNA today. -
Chargaff
Chargaff's research shows that the DNA has nitrogenous bases on the inside that pair with each other. Guanine to cytosine adenine to thymine. He also discovered that through the splitting of these pairs, DNA could be replicated. -
Hershey & Chase
Together, Hershey and Chase proved that DNA is not a protein, but a combination of genetic material. It was previously thought that DNA was merely a protein until Hershey and Chase proved otherwise. -
Watson & Crick
Watson and Crick discovered that the DNA molecule is a 3 dimensional double helix. They discovered the structure of DNA not the actual of existence of DNA. We did not know the structure of DNA previously, until Watson and Crick discovered it. -
Franklin
Whilst working with a student, Franklin came across two sets of crystalline DNA fibers. One was more hydrated then the other and she uncovered the basic dimensions of DNA strands. The phosphates were on the outside of the helical structure. This was previously unknown to the study of DNA. -
Meselson & Stahl
Meselson and Stahl discovered that when the cell splits into two daughter cells, the DNA will split as well. But replication wouldn't be normal. They thought that the cell would conserve the original strand of DNA and split itself. Then make a new copy of the complimentary counter part to the strand and create daughter strands that way. The daughter strand would contain half of the original strand form the mother cell. We didn't have an accurate idea previously on how a DNA molecule split.
