A Profile of James Dewey Watson Geneticist
Born in Chicago, Illinois on April 6, 1928, James Dewey Watson, considered today as a major figure in the field of genetics, attended the University of Chicago at the age of fifteen and graduated with honors in 1947 with a degree in zoology. He then applied for graduate programs at Cal Tech and Harvard University but was denied by both institutions. Soon after, Watson applied for and was granted a fellowship at Indiana University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in zoology in 1950. It was here at Indiana University that Watson came under the guidance and influence of geneticists H.J. Muller, T.M. Sonneborn and S.E. Luria, "the Italian-born microbiologist then on the staff of Indiana's Bacteriology Department" who also guided him during the writing of his Ph.D. thesis on the effects of X-rays on bacteriophage multiplication ("James Watson: Biography," Internet). Between 1950 and 1951, Watson spent much of his time in Copenhagen as a Merck Fellow of the National Research Council, where he worked with biochemist Herman Kalckar and Ole Maaloe. At this time, Watson was deeply involved in his studies on bacterial viruses and in the spring of 1951 journeyed to the Zoological Station in the city of Naples, Italy, where during a symposium, he
Of course, James Watson is best-known for his discoveries linked to the structure of DNA and the double helix in association with the late Francis Crick. This was not any old molecule, for DNA. As a major part of their research on the nature of DNA, Watson and Crick "used stick and ball models to test their ideas on the possible structure of DNA," while some of their colleagues used X-ray diffraction "to understand the physical structure of the DNA molecule. Watson's life also demonstrates the power of perseverance, for there were many instances during Watson's initial research into the nature of DNA in which he was tempted to quit and give up on his dream to solve the mystery of DNA and human genetics. As Lotta Fredholm points out, Watson and Crick's discovery of the structure and genetic nature of DNA provided scientists and geneticists with "a new way of looking at and manipulating biological processes," a pursuit now known as molecular biology. met "Maurice Wilkins and saw for the first time the X-ray diffraction pattern of crystalline DNA. Also, researcher Rosalind Franklin contributed greatly to revealing the true structure of DNA with her famous "photograph 51" which "revealed the helical structure of DNA. Obviously, Watson and Crick's discovery changed the face of biology and chemistry and made it possible for other scientific disciplines to arise, such as genetic manipulation, genetic testing and in-vitro fertilization. Personally, the life and times of James Dewey Watson should serve as inspiration for those who wish to pursue a career in biology and genetic research. Figuring out its 3-D structure would, we hoped, provide a glimpse of what Crick referred to.
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