title: Discovering the RNA double helix and hybridization.
abstract: The discovery, 50 years ago, that RNA could form a double helix made possible a number of advances, including an understanding that led, decades later, to the discovery of microRNAs and RNA interference. Remarkably, the first nucleic acid hybridization reaction was also described in the same report.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. avarsh@caltech.edu
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varshavsky
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000266:history*; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA