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Francis Crick, DNA pioneer, dies
Scientists around the world have paid tribute to British scientist Francis Crick, co-discover of the structure of DNA and the simple way in which genetic material is copied, who passed away on Wednesd
Scientists around the world have paid tribute to British scientist Francis Crick, co-discover of the structure of DNA and the simple way in which genetic material is copied, who passed away on Wednesday night. He died at a hospital in San Diego, California, where he had been battling colon cancer. He was 88.
Crick is credited with a number of important discoveries but will be best remembered for determining the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1953.
Crick and his US collaborator James Watson described a double helix linked by rungs, each of which was a pair made from two of the four 'letters' of DNA. They suggested this could be the means for copying genetic material. The implications were profound as DNA proved to be nothing less than the inherited template for creating and sustaining life.
'I will always remember Francis for his extraordinarily focused intelligence and for the many ways he showed me kindness and developed my self-confidence,' said Watson.
'Until his death, Francis was the person with whom I could most easily talk about ideas. He will be sorely missed.'
Golden age
The pair's work laid the foundations for future work in genetics and is widely acknowledged as one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the last century. Crick and Watson, along with Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1962 for the research.
'Francis Crick made an enormous contribution to science and his discoveries helped to usher in a golden age of molecular biology,' said Lord May, president of Britain's Royal Society.
During celebrations held in April 2003 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of their discovery, a plaque was unveiled at The Eagle pub in Cambridge, UK, where Crick and Watson had gone after making their discovery and had told bemused regulars that they had found 'the secret of life'.
Crick's other discoveries include the relationship between DNA and genetic coding. He found that genes are digital codes written on DNA molecules, which can be expressed as three-letter words, and was instrumental in cracking the code. Crick and Vernon Ingram also found that genetic material is crucial in determining the specificity of different proteins.
Scientific pantheon
'Francis Crick made not one but many great scientific discoveries,' said Matt Ridley, author of Genome and Nature Vs Nurture. 'Any one of those would have got him a place in the scientific pantheon. Discovering all three places him alongside Newton, Darwin and Einstein.'
Steve Jones, professor of genetics at University College London added: 'Francis Crick was the Charles Darwin of the 20th century.'
Crick moved to the United States in the mid-1970s, settling in La Jolla, California. He published over 130 scientific papers and several books, and was awarded many international prizes.
Fonte: (31/07/2004)
Pubblicato in Genetica, Biologia Molecolare e Microbiologia
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Evento: Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Farmacologia
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