DNA Defined

During the 1950s, a tremendous explosion of biological research occurred, and the methods of gene expression were elucidated.

The knowledge generated during this period helped explain how genes function, and it gave rise to the science of molecular genetics.

This science is based on the activity of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and how this activity brings about the production of proteins in the cell.

Genetic material is packaged into DNA molecules.

DNA molecules relay the inherited information to messenger RNA (mRNA) which, in turn, codes for proteins.

This chain of command is represented as:

DNA → mRNA → protein


The flow of information from DNA to protein is known as the Central Dogma of molecular biology.

In 1953, two biochemists, James D. Watson and Francis H. C. Crick, proposed a model for the structure of DNA.

(In 1962, they shared a Nobel Prize for their work.)

The publication of the structure of DNA opened a new realm of molecular genetics.

Its structure provided valuable insight into how genes operate and how DNA can reproduce itself during mitosis, thereby passing on hereditary characteristics.

Not only did the new research uncover many of the principles of protein synthesis, but it also gave rise to the science of biotechnology and genetic engineering.

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