The assumption that the nucleic acid in DNA carries genetic information was proved by Oswald Avery by 1943. However, no one could explain how it worked. By the early 1950s, two groups of scientists were on the verge of a breakthrough regarding this.
At King’s College in London, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins were studying DNA using X-ray diffraction as the primary tool. James Watson and Francis Crick however, made crucial advance by proposing that the DNA molecule was made up of two chains of nucleotides paired to form a double helix, like a spiral staircase.
The double helix structure of DNA was discovered by Watson and Crick in 1953. Double helix refers to the structure formed by double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids and this structure was first published in the journal Nature in 1953.
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