The Chain Of Events

It was a race to the finish--and the start of a new era of discovery

1951

MAY Watson attends Maurice Wilkins' lecture on X-ray crystal-lography of DNA

APRIL Linus Pauling deciphers the molecular structure of the protein keratin

OCT. Watson arrives at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, where he meets Francis Crick

NOV. Watson and Wilkins attend a seminar by Rosalind Franklin. Watson fails to remembers correctly key data about the water content of DNA

NOV. Watson and Crick build a model of DNA as a triple helix. Franklin immediately spots their major blunder

DEC. Watson and Crick are told to back off the DNA project. They send the molds for their models to Wilkins and...

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