Maurice Wilkins was born on December 15, 1916, at Pongaroa, New Zealand. At the age of six, he was brought to England. His career began as a nuclear physicist. Wilkins earned a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham in 1940. During World War II, he applied his background toward the development of the atomic bomb. After the war ended, Wilkins was troubled by the application of the atomic bomb and focused on solving biological problems with physical methods. He initially studied deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) because it was a relatively large molecule that could be easily isolated for use in a wide variety of studies.

In the 1940s, scientists had yet to realize the importance of DNA as a carrier molecule of life's genetic code. One day, Wilkins noticed that, when a gel preparation of DNA was touched with a glass stirring rod and observed under the microscope, a thin fiber...