title: Quiet debut for the double helix.
abstract: Past discoveries usually become aggrandized in retrospect, especially at jubilee celebrations, and the double helix is no exception. The historical record reveals a muted response by the scientific community to the proposal of this structure in 1953. Indeed, it was only when the outlines appeared of a mechanism for DNA's involvement in protein synthesis that the biochemical community began to take a serious interest in the structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, 1017 Cathedral of Learning, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA. olbyr+@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Olby
mesh_terms: D001671:Biochemistry / Q000266:history; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000266:history*; D004261:DNA Replication; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008954:Models, Biological; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D004247:DNA