DNA was discovered in the nineteenth century, but its significance as the physical basis of inheritance was not understood until midway through the twentieth. The realization that it was the molecule of heredity led to intensive efforts to determine its three-dimensional structure, and to understand how it stores and transmits genetic information. The discovery of the structure of DNA, and the elucidation of its function, ranks as one of the greatest achievements of science.

Discovery of Dna

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was first discovered in 1869 by Johann Friedrich Miescher (1844-1895), a young Swiss chemist studying in Tübingen, Germany. Miescher's interest in the biochemistry of the cell nucleus led him to collect used surgical bandages, from which he collected pus (white blood cells), which have very large nuclei. From these, he purified a new compound, which he termed "nuclein." Miescher showed...