James Watson: How we discovered DNA

Summary

In this engaging talk, the speaker humorously recounts the discovery of DNA's structure, highlighting the collaboration with Francis Crick and the race against Linus Pauling. The narrative delves into the speaker's early life, influences, and the pivotal role of x-ray crystallography. It also explores the subsequent genetic revolution, including the genetic code's cracking and the impact of DNA research on understanding diseases like cancer and autism, with a hopeful展望 towards future genetic discoveries.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker humorously expresses initial nervousness due to the absence of a podium.
• 🔬 The discovery of DNA's structure is attributed to the collaboration between the speaker and Francis Crick, driven by their shared curiosity and scientific pursuit.
• 📚 The speaker's early interest in biology and evolution was sparked by reading Charles Darwin's works and was further influenced by Erwin Schrodinger's 'What is Life?'
• 🏫 The speaker's educational journey included an unconventional path, entering the University of Chicago after just two years of high school.
• 🌟 The speaker admired Linus Pauling and was inspired to pursue genetics to understand the essence of life at a molecular level.
• 🧬 The race to discover DNA's structure involved a competitive scientific environment, with the speaker and Crick initially proposing an incorrect three-stranded model.
• 🏆 The correct double helix model of DNA was deduced through a combination of x-ray crystallography, model building, and collaboration with other scientists.
• 🤝 The speaker emphasizes the importance of collaboration and being surrounded by experts in different fields to achieve scientific breakthroughs.
• 🧪 Post-DNA structure discovery, the speaker and Crick faced skepticism and a lack of immediate recognition, highlighting the challenges in validating new scientific theories.
• 🧬 The speaker discusses the future of genetic research, including the potential for DNA biopsies, understanding genetic predispositions to diseases like autism and schizophrenia, and the impact of genetic technologies on medicine.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial reaction to being asked to recount the discovery of DNA's structure?

The speaker expressed feeling slightly bored and scared about recounting the discovery of DNA's structure, as indicated by the phrases 'And it slightly bores me' and 'Well, I thought there would be a podium, so I'm a bit scared.'

Why did the speaker choose to study at the University of Chicago?

The speaker chose the University of Chicago because it allowed students to enroll after only two years of high school, as mentioned in 'So you -- it was fun to get away from high school -- (Laughter) --, because I was very small, and I was no good in sports, or anything like that.'

What was the influence of the book 'What is Life?' by Erwin Schrodinger on the speaker's career path?

The book 'What is Life?' by Erwin Schrodinger inspired the speaker to become a geneticist, as it suggested that the essence of life was information present in chromosomes, which led the speaker to ponder the nature of genetic material, as stated 'And that, of course, had been a question I wanted to know.'

Why did the speaker initially apply to Caltech, and what was the outcome?

The speaker applied to Caltech because of their interest in genetics and their hero, Linus Pauling, but was turned down, as indicated by 'So I applied to Caltech and they turned me down.'

How did Maurice Wilkins' presentation at a meeting in Italy influence the speaker's research direction?

Maurice Wilkins' presentation, which included an x-ray photograph of DNA, convinced the speaker that DNA had a structure and was likely the genetic material, leading the speaker to want to work with Wilkins, as mentioned in 'And there was an unexpected speaker who wasn't on the program, and he talked about DNA.'

What was the significance of the alpha-helix structure proposed by Linus Pauling for the speaker and Francis Crick's work?

Linus Pauling's proposal of the alpha-helix structure for proteins motivated the speaker and Francis Crick to build a model for DNA, as it demonstrated the potential of using models to understand complex structures, as indicated by 'And in doing so, he banished the man out on the right, Sir Lawrence Bragg, who was the Cavendish professor.'

Why did the speaker and Francis Crick initially fail in their first attempt to build a DNA model?

The speaker and Francis Crick's first model was a three-stranded model, which was incorrect and was dismissed by Wilkins and Franklin, as mentioned in 'So we built a three-stranded model. The people from London came up. Wilkins and this collaborator, or possible collaborator, Rosalind Franklin, came up and sort of laughed at our model.'

What was the turning point that led to the correct structure of DNA being discovered?

The turning point was when the speaker and Francis Crick received a manuscript from Linus Pauling's son, which contained an incorrect model, allowing them to realize their own model could be correct, as stated 'And so, one day Peter came in and he said he was Peter Pauling, and he gave me a copy of his father's manuscripts.'

How did the speaker describe the process of discovering the DNA structure?

The speaker described the discovery process as a combination of reading, learning from others' mistakes, and being in the right place at the right time, culminating in a sudden realization of the correct structure, as indicated by 'So we were still in the game, but we were frightened, that somebody at Caltech would tell Linus that he was wrong.'

What was the speaker's reaction to the initial lack of recognition for their work on DNA's structure?

The speaker expressed surprise and disappointment at the lack of immediate recognition, noting that there were very few references to their work in 'Nature' for the first five years, as mentioned in 'And so we were left by ourselves, and trying to do the last part of the trio: how do you --, what does this genetic information do?'

How did the speaker's work on DNA structure influence the development of the biotech industry?

The speaker's work laid the foundation for understanding genetic information, which eventually led to the development of recombinant DNA technology and the biotech industry, as indicated by 'And then, they learned how to read the letters for the code. And, boom, we've, you know, had a biotech industry.'