Science is about making connections. Plenty are on show in Watson and Crick’s famous 1953 article on the structure of DNA[cite]10.1038/171737a0[/cite] but often with the tersest of explanations. Take for example their statement “Both chains follow right-handed helices“. Where did that come from? This post will explore the subtle implications of that remark (and how in one aspect they did not quite get it right!).
Posts Tagged ‘Bijvoet’
The handedness of DNA: an unheralded connection.
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010Tags:Bijvoet, chemist, chiroptical, d(CGCG), Derek Barton, dispersion forces, DNA duplex, Historical, Marcus du Sautoy, Note, Odile Crick, professional artist, Tartaric Acid, van der Waals, watoc11, Watson Crick, Web sense, Z-DNA
Posted in Interesting chemistry | 8 Comments »