The Story About the Discovery of DNA

The development of the double-helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 was and is one of the most important scientific discoveries of our time. Essentially bringing to light the inner workings of human biology. However, though Watson and Crick were some of the only scientists working on the structure of DNA, at that time, many scientists before them had contributed important breakthrough discoveries in DNA function which led up to Watson and Crick's DNA structure discovery. Without them it is questionable as to whether Watson and Crick could have had enough knowledge of DNA to determine its double helix structure. This paper will discuss the earliest discoveries concerning deoxyribonucleic acid and the scientists who discovered them, followed by the formation and progression of the Human Genome Project, and the latest issues of genetic engineering.