The “scientific catastrophe” in nucleic acids research that boosted molecular biology

2019/02/01 by Eugenio Frixione, Lourdes Ruiz-Zamarripa · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry #RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms

paper · pdf · doi:10.1074/jbc.cl119.007397

openalex publication_date 2019/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03

Abstract

The distinctive profile of the double-helix DNA molecule is today, along with Rutherford’s depiction of the atom as a miniature planetary system, a worldwide-recognized symbol of twentieth-century science. The complex story of how DNA’s tertiary structure was determined is also well-known. Surprisingly, however, far less is commonly known about how the structural subunits of the nucleic acids—i.e. nucleotides, nucleosides, and the specific carbohydrates that distinguish DNA and RNA—were first identified and their connectivity ascertained.

Citations

• Phoebus Levene and the Tetranucleotide Structure of Nucleic Acids
• Discovering DNA: Friedrich Miescher and the early years of nucleic acid research
• STUDIES ON THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF THE SUBSTANCE INDUCING TRANSFORMATION OF PNEUMOCOCCAL TYPES
• Über Polymerisation

Cited by

• Walter Jennings Jones [wikipedia]

Related

• Understanding biochemistry: structure and function of nucleic acids
• 1950–2000: five decades of curiosity-driven discovery in alternative DNA structures
• Understanding Nucleic Acids Using Synthetic Chemistry
• DNA translated: Friedrich Miescher's discovery of nuclein in its original context
• Primitive Genetic Polymers