Dna's Backstory: Deoxyribonucleic Acid

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DNA, also known as deoxyribonucleic acid, is a type of nucleic acid that holds our genetic information. DNA, located inside a cell’s nucleus, is essentially what makes us and identifies us. This paper will explore DNA, from the time it was discovered to how it has impacted our lives. It will also explore the different scientists who helped contributed to our knowledge of DNA today, from Rosalind Franklin, the first person to see DNA, to James Watson and Francis Crick, who constructed the first model of DNA. Recent studies show how much of a difference there actually is in our DNA versus another person’s DNA. DNA is revolutionary in what we know about our body and its cells. Years of advancement on DNA was taken place, and it branched out further and is even able to be used in our modern society. Today, DNA is used for a wide variety of tasks that helped develop knowledge and research.
Keywords: DNA, Rosalind Franklin, Francis Crick, James Watson, advancement, revolutionary, modern
DNA’s Backstory: The Nucleic Acid Located in Every Human Cell
DNA, indubitably, is important to understand as it is essentially what makes us who …show more content…

Multiple scientists were trying to figure out DNA’s structure. One of these scientists was Rosalind Elsie Franklin, who was dedicated to researching DNA. She was the first person to see DNA itself. By using x-ray diffraction, Franklin was able to see the double-helix structure of DNA through an x-ray image. Rosalind Franklin took “Photo-51” which allowed Watson and Crick to confirm the helical structure of the DNA strand (Murnaghan, 2017). However, because she was a woman, she was not given credit for her discovery. This is because back then, people did not think that a woman could be of any importance or could contribute anything to science. Hence, the other scientists working with Franklin ended up stealing her work. Nonetheless, these discoveries were the stepping-stones of the future breakthrough on