What Happened On February 28th?

On February 28th, 1953 at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England, two scientists, James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick, made a discovery about life’s most important molecule, DNA.

More specifically, what they found was the double helix structure of DNA, which revolutionized our understanding of all life forms.

Being such a small molecule, if you unravelled all DNA molecules in your body and lined them up, it would stretch over 110 billion miles! From wherever your position is in the world right now, your molecules would elongate to the Sun and back over 600 times!

DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid, holds the blueprint for life, and cracking its code gave us information about heredity, disease, and the very essence of what it means to be alive.

How On Earth Did They Find It?

It wasn’t a sudden Eureka moment, but rather a culmination of years of research, collaboration, and a dash of inspiration. Building on the work of Rosalind Franklin, who captured crucial X-ray diffraction images of DNA, and Maurice Wilkins, who shared these images with Watson and Crick, the two scientists meticulously studied existing research and built physical models.

So, on today’s date in 1953, the final breakthrough was made. Watson, upon seeing a pair of bases paired together in their model, uttered, “the secret of life has been found.“

They Discovered…

* Two strands – These strands, composed of sugar-phosphate backbones and paired bases (adenine with thymine, guanine with cytosine), form the iconic double helix.

* Complementary Base Pairing – This specific pairing allows for the accurate replication of DNA, ensuring that genetic information is passed on faithfully from generation to generation. This is why we look like our parents!

* The Code Of Life – The sequence of these bases forms the genetic code, containing the instructions for building and maintaining an organism.

The discovery of the DNA double helix ushered in a new era of scientific exploration, paving the way for countless advancements in the fields of genetics, medicine, biotechnology, and even test-tube babies. From decoding the human genome to developing life-saving therapies, the impact of this discovery continues to be felt in countless ways!

Without this discovery, experts would not be able to track down criminals and link their crimes to their DNA. An exemplary case of this was using fingerprinting in the Ted Bundy case.