Nucleotide Metabolism

The single most important experiment of the 20th century was elucidation of the structure of DNA by James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick, along with Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.” (Franklin had died in 1958 and thus was not eligible for the award.) The discovery that there exists a heritable genetic code captured the imagination of the public and continues to have profound biological and social implications. In 1963, the surrealist artist Salvador Dali paid homage to the discovery in his painting, Galacidalacidesoxyribonucleicacid. Today, the discovery is celebrated and remembered in many ways, including my favorite, a plaque at The Eagle pub in Cambridge, United Kingdom, where, in 1953, Watson and Crick first publicly announced the …