The discovery of DNA

Modern understanding of DNA has evolved from the discovery of nucleic acid to the development of the double-helix model. In 1869, Friedrich Miescher began working with white blood cells which are the major component of pus from infections. He collected a lot of pus from bandages at the local hospital. He used a salt solution to wash the pus off the bandages. When he added a weak alkaline solution to the cells. The cells lysed and nuclei precipitated out of the solution. From the cell nuclei he isolated a unique chemical substance to which he called nuclein. Chemically, nuclein has high phosphorus content. Moreover it showed acidic properties. Hence it was named as nucleic acid.

       By the early 1900s, we knew that Miescher’s nuclein was a mix (mixture) of proteins and nucleic acids. There are two kinds of nucleic acids DNA (deoxyribonuclic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid).

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