On this day in 1953: Chemical structure of DNA was discovered

CAIRO – 28 February 2022: On February 28, 1953, Cambridge University scientists James Watson and Francis Crick determined the double helical structure of DNA, the molecule that contains human genes.

Molecular biologists have been greatly helped by the work of another DNA researcher, Rosalind Franklin, although she was not included in the announcement, nor was she involved in the subsequent Nobel Prize for that.

Although DNA - short for deoxyribonucleic acid - was discovered in 1869, its critical role in determining genetic inheritance was not proven until 1943.

In the early 1950s, Watson and Crick were only two of the many scientists working to discover the structure of DNA.

Chemist Linus Pauling of California suggested an incorrect model at the beginning of 1953, prompting Watson and Crick to try to beat Pauling at his own game.