The Race for the Double Helix

In April 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick shook the scientific world with the double-helical model for the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. This image shows Watson (left) and Crick admiring their DNA model, which they built from tin and wire. Over the past 50 years, their model has evolved from a mere hypothesis to an icon of modern Biology. DNA, the substance of inheritance, is the most celebrated molecule of our time. The discovery of the structure of DNA is has enabled scientists to learn everything that we know today about genetics. Without this discovery, the fields of medicine, biotechnology, and many other areas would not be what they are now. Over the years, this image has transcended what it originally was: a simple photograph of the discovery of DNA structure; now it has grown to encompass much more.

Depending on your level of education, this picture may represent different things. To the uneducated, it may simply represent science. People have come to associate ball and stick molecule diagrams with science in general and thus recognize this picture as a photo of a big scientific discovery.  To someone who went to school this might more specifically represent the fields of biology and genetics. DNA is one of the most important concepts you learn about when you learn biology in high school and it is very likely that this picture appeared in your textbook. This photo has become a metonym for genetics, the study of inheritance. When I look at this picture, instantly the concepts of Mendelian genetics, basic chromosomal inheritance, and basic molecular inheritance come to mind. The double helix sketch on the back wall in the picture is also incredibly iconic. Movies like “Spiderman” and “The Incredible Hulk” have used images of DNA in gene splicing sequences to show how their respective superheroes inherited their powers. Even though there is no real scientific basis to these sequences, because of pictures like the Watson and Crick photo, the audience instantly understands what the movie is trying to convey. As we continue to discover and learn more about the world we live in, the details of this discovery may eventually fade, however this image will certainly outlive the written word, and persist to represent science, discovery and learning.