Question

Information from X-ray crystallographic data collected by ______ was used by Watson and Crick in their development of the model of DNA.

Options

• Chargaff

• Griffith

• Franklin

• Hershey and Chase

Answer 1

Information from X-ray crystallographic data collected by Franklin was used by Watson and Crick in their development of the model of DNA.

Explanation:

James Watson and Francis Crick developed their famous double-helix model of DNA in 1953 by relying heavily on the X-ray crystallographic data produced by Rosalind Franklin and her colleague Maurice Wilkins. Franklin’s most famous image, known as Photo 51, provided the critical visual evidence that the DNA molecule was a tightly coiled helix with a repeating structure. This data allowed Watson and Crick to calculate the specific dimensions of the helix, such as its width and the spacing between base pairs, ultimately leading them to realise that the sugar-phosphate backbones are on the outside while the nitrogenous bases point inward.