It's DNA Day!

April 25 has been designated DNA day. The April 25, 1953 issue of Nature marked a milestone in science. Three papers reported on the structure of DNA. The papers are considered classics and everyone cites them without reading them. So be original, download and read them.

The discovery of the structure of the double helix was one of the most exciting development of science in the twentieth century-- I am prejudiced here--and one of the most sordid tales of scientific competition and machiavellian chicanery. A student in my Cell Biology class pointed me to this site for a blow-by-blow account of the race to the double helix.

It has been more than 50 years since the double helix took center stage in biological sciences and DNA still spins its magic.

Visit the site of the NHGRI (National Human Genome Research Institute) for DNA activities. It is all about us, you, me, the lowly fruitfly, and the splendid E. coli.

Happy DNA day!