Genetic Scientists

1920

2000

Frederick Griffith discovers "transformation."

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase found evidence that nucleic acids are the hereditary material, rather than proteins.

Erwin Chargaff reported that the base composition for DNA varies from species to species, making DNA a credible candidate for being the genetic material.

James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix shape of DNA.

James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins are awarded the Nobel Prize.

Rosalind Franklin dies.

Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl conducted an experiment that supported the semi-conservative model of DNA reproduction.

Colin MacLeod, Oswald Avery, and Maclyn McCarty isolate DNA as the material of which genes and chromosomes are made.

George Beadle and Edward Tatum discover the role of genes in regulating biochemical events within cells.

Joshua Lederberg got a Nobel Prize for discovering bacterial conjugation. He shared it with George Beadle and Edward Tatum.

Craig Venter Started the Human Genome Project.

Linus Pauling, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin try to figure out the shape of DNA using an x-ray diffraction image from Rosalind.