In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson announced their discovery of the structure of DNA, which

has revolutionized the field of molecular biology and led to advancements in our understanding and
treatment of inherited diseases. However, the discovery was only possible due to the work of a host
of talented scientists, including X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin and the encouragement of
Lawrence Bragg, who was the Cavendish Professor of Physics at Cambridge University at the time.

Bragg, who was a crystallographer, encouraged the X-ray crystallography of biological substances and
supported the efforts of scientists such as Max Perutz and John Kendrew to determine the structure
of haemoglobin and myoglobin. June Broomhead, one of the few women at the Cavendish Laboratory
at the time, also made significant contributions to the understanding of the dimensions of adenine
and thymine molecules, which were crucial to the discovery of DNA's structure. Bill Cochran's
theoretical research was also instrumental in explaining the detailed images produced by a single
helix.

Crick and Watson, who were theorists, did not conduct any of the experiments that resulted in the X-
ray crystallography images, but they interpreted the findings of the crystallographers and converted
them into an image of the molecular structure. They used all the structural information and found
that the two helixes were held together by a pair of helixes interacting with each other and held
together by pairs of bases, with the order in which the base pairs appear giving the genetic code.

The discovery of DNA's structure led to a surge of interest in X-rays of biological samples and
increased competition between Bragg and Linus Pauling, a professor of chemistry at Caltech. Bragg
allowed Crick and Watson to pursue their work on DNA, and they benefited from the work of X-ray
crystallographers Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin at King’s College London, using Franklin’s
images, essentially without her knowledge.

The importance of the discovery of DNA's structure is widely recognized, but the narrative of the
story has changed for a new generation of physicists. The crucial role of Rosalind Franklin and other
scientists in the discovery is now understood, and buildings and prizes are named in her honor. After
the discovery, work on molecular biology grew exponentially at Cambridge, eventually leading to the
creation of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Overall, the discovery of DNA's structure was the result of the work of many talented scientists and
was a significant breakthrough in our understanding of genetics and inheritance. The legacy of the
discovery continues to impact our understanding of biology and medicine today.