The story behind the discovery of DNA through the eyes of James D. Watson ~ Book Review

Hi Everyone,
Today I came to you with a post. Today I wanted to make a different post so I was looking for a different community so that I could post there and after searching I found it. I am going to post a community where you can give your opinion only on books. You can tell me about how the book is and its story here. The name of my book is The Double Helix This book is written by James D. Watson and this book was published in 1968. You can read this book if you want. I hope you will like today's post.

Book Story

James D. Watson who is the author of the book was a young scientist at that time. He arrived at the University of Cambridge in England at Cavendish Laboratory in the year 1951. He aimed at solving the puzzle of heredity of the living cells. This is where he met Francis Crick. Crick was a mature and smart scientist. The two were fascinated in DNA. DNA is the molecule, which transmits heredity in the biological world. But its structure was not known then. A large question was how such great deal of data can be housed in such small molecule. Meanwhile, in King College in London, another two scientists by the name Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin were attempting to capture some images of DNA through the use of the X-ray technology. Those photos in particular Photo 51 came to play a significant role in the structure comprehension of the DNA.

Watson and Crick were quite like a fierce competition. They held the idea that the only way that could lead them into success was ensuring that they were the first to develop the model. At the beginning of 1953 they found something related to works by Rosalind which could be utilized without due authorization. Working on this data Watson-Crick got the idea that the DNA structure consists of two chains that run along one another. The chain has been twisted to become a double helix. There exist 4 bases in the molecule of the double helix. Adenine specifically forms a pair with thymine whereas guanine forms a pair with cytosine. DNA can be replicated with ease as a result of this particular matching. This is the kernel of heredity.

Watson-Crick model was completed on February 28 1953. They rejoiced greatly. This landmark paper appeared in Nature on April 25. This finding was awarded a Nobel Prize to Watson, Crick and Wilkins, later in 1962. This was however not accorded to Rosalind Franklin. Her contribution took place too late to be recognized. Watson clearly expressed his feelings avarice rivalry antagonistic nature towards associates and euphoria of the discovery in the book. With this the book was highly discussed and criticized. Others term that it brings out the reality of the unseen competition and politics amongst scientists. It is argued that Rosalind lacked the due respect.

My Explanation

The Double Helix is more than a science book. It is an exciting and intimate account of the discovery of a scientific breakthrough that ran through the history of science. James D. Watson is the author of this book and he was one of the winners of the Nobel Prize together with Francis Crick in elucidating the structure of DNA. It has been published in 1968 and is a fabulous autobiography in a blend of science competition emotion jealousy, and success and failure. In his book Watson does not only bring out the science of research but also the personal differences disagreements, competition and mental situations of that era. He tends to speak out words that surround Rosalind Franklin in controversial and critical behavior thus creating criticism of this book. The style adopted by Watson is plain, direct and narrative. He is making an effort to dispel this awe of science on readers. The book is presented in such a way that one gets an impression that it is a thriller novel reader will not be in a position to realize when he is reading science and when he is reading some kind of biographical anecdote.

He did not conceal his emotions ego and even jealousy on other people which is even more human and real to the book. Nonetheless the view held by Watson might appear to be biased at certain points as expected by many readers. The portrayal of Rosalind Franklin carried out by Watson is one of the controversial points mentioned in this book. People tend to think that he did not acknowledge the contribution of Franklin as it deserves. This part subsequently led to a controversy on the attitude to women scientists. The Double Helix is not only a history of scientific researches the book is also a history of the journey. The book is a required read by any reader interested in biology history and personality clash. The book demonstrates us that scientists are not only researchers they are personalities and persons who have their hopes ego fears and ambition of victory.

That's it for today!I appreciate your time and attention. At the end of this post, you can comment and let me know how you liked my post and if you have any questions, I will try to answer them inshaAllah. I hope you like it. See you soon..

Credit

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Thank you so much for reading.
Hope you liked it. See you in the next Book review post.
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