1962

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Linus Pauling was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against the nuclear arms race between East and West. Linus Pauling Full name: Linus Carl PaulingBorn: 28 February 1901, Portland, OR, USADied: 19 August 1994, Big Sur, CA, USADate awarded: 10 October 1963 Chemistry scientist and peace activist Linus Pauling is the only Nobel…

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In the mid-to-late 1940s, scientists began to suspect that the molecules that are responsible for heredity were not proteins, but in fact DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid. But how could a molecule long considered to be simple and inert hold the secret of life? The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 was awarded…

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Erwin Schrödinger’s idea that physics could help solve biological riddles was the spark that led many researchers to try to unlock the secrets behind our book of life, the structure of DNA. The double helix structure of DNA is arguably the most recognizable icon in biology, so it might at first appear strange that two…

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The inspiration that X-rays could reveal the structures of chemical compounds inevitably gave way to the perspiration required to solve more and more complicated structures. Max Perutz and John Kendrew received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1962 for their major achievement of successfully using X-rays to determine the structures of complex proteins. The pattern…

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Perspectives

For Max Perutz, proving that X-rays could reveal the structures of complex, biologically important proteins would require a large dose of inspiration followed by an even larger amount of perspiration.

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Other resources

Links to other sites Videos James Watson: ‘How we discovered DNA’ from TED Talks. Interview with James Watson and Francis Crick at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, November 2013.

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