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Francis
Crick
Born
Francis Harry Compton Crick
8 June 1916
Weston Favell,Northamptonshire, England, UK
Died
28 July 2004 (aged 88)
San Diego, California, United States
Residence
UK, USA
Nationality
British
Fields
Physics
Molecular biology
Known For
DNA Structure
Central Dogma
Consciousness
Adaptor Hypothesis
Notable awards
•FRS (1959)
•Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical
Research (1960)
•Gairdner Foundation International
Award (1962)
•Nobel Prize (1962)
•EMBO Membership (1964)
•Royal Medal (1972)
•Copley Medal (1975)
•Albert Medal (1987)
•OM (1991)
DNA Research
Crick found inspiration in something he read from Erwin Schrödinger—"How can
the events of space and time which take place within the. . .living organism be
accounted for by physics and chemistry?"—and Watson convinced Crick that
unlocking the secrets of DNA's structure would both provide the answer to
Schrödinger's question and reveal DNA's hereditary role.
Using X-ray diffraction studies of DNA, in 1953, James Watson and Crick
constructed a molecular model representing the known physical and chemical
properties of DNA. It consisted of two intertwined spiral strands, resembling a
twisted ladder (referred to as the "double helix"). They hypothesized that if the
two sides split from one another, each side would become the basis for a pattern
for the formation of new strands identical to their former partners. This theory and
subsequent research led to an explanation of the process behind the replication of
a gene and, eventually, the chromosome.
Crick had been inspired partly by the great quantum physicist
Erwin Schrödinger’s 1944 book What is Life? Schrödinger told his
fellow physicists that the molecules of life were the great
unexplored frontier.
Crick rejected vitalism – the idea that some additional secret
sauce, unique to living things, was required to solve the great
mystery of life. He believed life could be explained using a simple
combination of:
•self-replicating molecules produced and governed by the laws of
chemistry and physics
•natural selection acting upon these molecules
In October 1951, Francis Crick met the 23-year old American Biologist James
Watson
Recently arrived from USA, he had a single overwhelming desire: He wanted to
discover how DNA transferred heredity instructions from parent to offspring.
At Cambridge University he joined up with Francis Crick to analyze the x-ray data
(scientists could only see molecules by shining x-ray beams on them) collected by
Rosalind Franklin and others. In a sudden burst of insight, Watson and Crick built a
model out of brass plates and clamps and other bits of laboratory equipment in
1953.
As they worked, they realized that nucleic acids are arranged on a twisted ladder,
with two runners made of phosphates and sugars, and a series of rungs made of
pairs of organic compounds known as bases. Years later, they won the Nobel Prize
for this frenzy of discovery of DNA's double helix.
Using DNA
Evolutionary biology was revolutionized by the discovery of DNA.
Mutations, researchers realized, change the spelling of the
cookbook. A single base pair may change, or a set of genes may
be duplicated. Those mutations that confer a selective advantage
to an individual become more common over time, and ultimately
these mutant genes may drive the older versions out of existence.
Thanks to the discovery of DNA, it is now possible for scientists to
identify not just the genes, but the individual bases. Before the
discovery of DNA, scientists could only uncover the evolutionary
tree of life by comparing the bodies and cells of different species.
Now they can compare their genetic codes, working their way
down to the deepest branches of life dating back billions of years.