DNA 60 years on.

Upon the 60th anniversary of the discovery of DNA, Sir Robert Winston delves into the archive. In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson published their single page article in 'Nature' magazine indicating that the structure of DNA was a double helix. Crick talks from the archive (from a cow shed) about the central premise of their research. Crick, a physicist, talks about his work at the tissue lab at Cambridge and the structure of proteins. This is where he met Watson. Watson, a biologist, also talks about his work. Crick says that they ‘educated each other’. They were working with Max Perutz. Perutz reminisces about the unpreposing appearance of Watson who was scruffy! Crick however, was more precise in manner. At King’s College London, Maurice Wilkins was working on the same problem on the structure of DNA (he’d been involved in the development of the atom bomb in the US). Rosalind Franklin and her expertise in crystallography turned out to be key in cracking the code. Her brother, now 90, talks about her professional drive. Unfortunately, there was a professional misunderstanding between Wilkins and Franklin which was caused by their superiors. Even though they were rivals, the teams in Cambridge and London shared information by visiting labs and attending lectures. Linus Pauling, who was based in the US, was not included in this friendly rivalry. The race to discover the structure of DNA intensified. Franklin left King’s and her research; Wilkins showed one of her crystal photographs to Crick which revealed that the DNA was helical in structure. She died of cancer at 37. Watson wrote an unflattering caricature of her in his biography; many comments have since been disproved and her reputation has grown in recognition of her contribution. Crick recounts how Watson was not skilled at model making; the repeatable nature of the molecules had been posited many years only. Crick tells how exhausting it was to make the final revelation; Crick went straight to bed. Perutz remembers seeing the model for the first time and his sense immediately that it was right. In 1953, the article in 'Nature' scarcely changed things. In 1962 Watson and Crick received the Nobel prize for their work; the scientific revolution was to come later. In 1966 the DNA ‘code’ was cracked. In the 1980s, Watson comments on the ethical dilemma of understanding and knowing about our own DNA. A Panorama programme in 1988 discussed some of these ethical issues in particular regarding parents choosing certain ‘desirable’ or ‘undesirable’ characteristics for their children. The research is described as a ‘Pandora’s box’ according to Sydney Brenner. Winston talks about sequencing the human genome, funded by Wellcome Trust. Sir Alec Jeffreys comment on DNA fingerprinting – a surprising and unexpected outcome of Crick and Watsons’ research. Jeffreys talks about the first photograph of finger print DNA, which indicated ‘family’ relationships. It was used to convict someone for the first time in 1987. A rapist was convicted as a result of a victim’s knowledge of the tv series CSI. More recently Winston provided DNA for his programme 'Threads of Life' and discovers his genetic heritage which harks back to a past in the Mediterranean with Jewish roots. Winston mentions the margins of error – DNA samples are only reliable if the samples are kept secure. In 2006, the debate raged about the database of DNA tested individuals, either victims or criminals. Henry Porter argues against the creep of data kept on individuals. The Protection of Freedoms Act was passed by government 2012. Innocent individuals’ DNA is being deleted. A database of people with cancer was launched in the UK. In 2010 Craig Venter talks about his development of a synthetic self-replicating cell. Dr Carol Reedhead (?) works in the UK and US on transgenics; at the moment studying mice. Watson, with some controversial views, is still working at the cutting age of biology; Winston talks to him over the phone about the legacy of the original discovery. He believes that cancer will be cured in the near future using this research.