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James Watson: American Masters

DNA Discoveries Before Watson and Crick

Season 33

Watson and Crick discovered DNA’s structure, but other scientists paved the way for them.

James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA’s structure in 1953, but other scientists paved the way for them. Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher isolated DNA in 1869, testing cell nuclei in pus. In 1944, Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty’s study of pneumonia bacteria provided definitive evidence that DNA was the molecule of heredity.

AIR DATE 1/2/19

DNA Discoveries Before Watson and Crick
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DNA Discoveries Before Watson and Crick
James Watson on X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin
James Watson on X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin
About James Watson: American Masters

Explore the entertainer’s vast talent and journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America. Features Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, and clips from his TV, film and concert performances.

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