The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNAThe classic personal account of Watson and Crick’s groundbreaking discovery of the structure of DNA, now with an introduction by Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind. By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty-four, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science’s greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick’s desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. Never has a scientist been so truthful in capturing in words the flavor of his work. |
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Page 33
Before Maurice's talk I had worried about the possibility that the gene might be fantastically irregular . Now , how- ever , I knew that genes could crystallize ; hence they must have a regular structure that could be solved in a ...
Before Maurice's talk I had worried about the possibility that the gene might be fantastically irregular . Now , how- ever , I knew that genes could crystallize ; hence they must have a regular structure that could be solved in a ...
Page 193
Even this possibility vanished when Francis came in . He immediately realized that a like - with - like structure would give a 34 Å crystallographic repeat only if each chain had a complete rotation every 68 A. But this would mean that ...
Even this possibility vanished when Francis came in . He immediately realized that a like - with - like structure would give a 34 Å crystallographic repeat only if each chain had a complete rotation every 68 A. But this would mean that ...
Page 194
The metal purine and pyrimidine models , needed for systematically checking all the conceivable hydrogen - bonding possibilities , had not been finished on time . At least two more days were needed before they would be in our hands .
The metal purine and pyrimidine models , needed for systematically checking all the conceivable hydrogen - bonding possibilities , had not been finished on time . At least two more days were needed before they would be in our hands .
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THE DOUBLE HELIX: A Personal Account Of The Discovery Of The Structure Of Dna
User Review - KirkusEven without understanding any of the scientific data processed here, the general reader will find it hard to remain immune to this account of how J.D. Watson, along with another bright, volatile ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Devil_llama - LibraryThingJames Watson's love letter to himself, as he explains to us exactly how he single-handedly solved the structure of DNA, with the insignificant help of a cast of baboons, clowns, and women. Watson's ... Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
acid adenine answer argument arranged arrival asked atoms backbone base base pairs became began biology bonds Bragg building Cambridge Cavendish chemical chemistry coiled coils College completely conversation Crick crystallographic cytosine Delbrück double helix English equal evidence existed experiments face fact final Francis gave genes genetic give given groups guanine hand held helical hope hydrogen idea immediately important interest John join King's knew later letter Linus London look lunch Maurice meeting mind molecules months Moreover morning moved Nature needed never obvious Pauling Pauling's Peter position possibility problem protein quickly realized reason remained Rosy saying scientific sense solve soon structure success sugar sure talk tell theory thinking thought tion told walked wanted week X-ray
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Bibliographic information
| Title | The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA |
| Author | James D. Watson |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Touchstone, 2001 |
| ISBN | 074321630X, 9780743216302 |
| Length | 256 pages |
| Subjects | › › Science / General Science / History Science / Life Sciences / Human Anatomy & Physiology Science / Reference |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |