Meet Watson, Crick, Watkins and Franklin in their quest for DNA!

James Watson and Francis Crick James Dewey Watson was born April 6, 1928 in Chicago, USA. Francis Harry Compton Crick was born on June 8th, 1916, at Northampton, England. Watson and Crick formed a collaborative working relationship at University of Cambridge unraveling the mysteries of the structure of DNA. They determined that the structure of DNA was a double-helix polymer, or a spiral of two DNA strands, each containing a long chain of monomer nucleotides, wound around each other. According to their findings, DNA replicated itself by separating into individual strands, becoming the template for a new double helix in 1953.

Maurice Wilkins Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins was born at Pongaroa, New Zealand, on December 15th, 1916. His work has contributed to the scientific understanding of phosphorescence, isotope separation, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and to the development of radar. He is best known for his work at King's College, London on the structure of DNA. The X-ray diffraction images he produced along with Rosalind Franklin, and Raymond Gosling led to the deduction by James Watson and Francis Crick of the 3-dimensional helical nature of DNA.

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin was born July 25, 1920 in London, England. She is an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer who made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. One of her X-ray diffraction pictures of the "B" form of DNA, known as Photograph 51, became famous as critical evidence in identifying the structure of DNA.

Wilkins, Crick and Watson were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material. Franklin was omitted as her death in 1958 made her ineligible to receive the prize.