title: The DNA double helix fifty years on.
abstract: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the proposal of a double helical structure for DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. The place of this proposal in the history and development of molecular biology is discussed. Several other discoveries that occurred in the middle of the twentieth century were perhaps equally important to our understanding of cellular processes; however, none of these captured the attention and imagination of the public to the same extent as the double helix. The existence of multiple forms of DNA and the uses of DNA in biological technologies is presented. DNA is also finding increasing use as a material due to its rather unusual structural and physical characteristics as well as its ready availability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2S2. rob.macgregor@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Macgregor
authors.forename: Gregory M K
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Poon
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000266:history; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation
chemical_list: D004247:DNA