Introduction
The book primarily started by introducing the characters that played significant roles in the research and development of the DNA structure. The first parts of the book comprised of the opening of Sir Lawrence Bragg, who gave an overview of the entire book and talked about the significance of Francis Crick and James Watson’s discovery with regard to the scientific findings that prevailed in the discovery of DNA structure. Ethical problems are also involved as to how some of the major characters showed in the context in which Watson himself struggled. Actually, the book seems to be an autobiography of the author, which highlighted his memories on his impressions and not technically through the process of learning that describes a historical work.
An opening remark was made on the mode of the phrase, “Honest Jim,” which basically pertains to him as. The phrase depicts him as an honest man who claimed that the discovery was made not only by him and Francis Crick but also Maurice Wilkins, Linus Pauling, and Rosalind Franklin. “Honest Jim” was the name called to him by one of his fellow scientists, though there has been an insight that the meaning integrates a relative sarcasm.
The serendipitous discovery made by James Watson with the DNA structure had been highlighted with the chapters that described his great pursuance of studying the DNA structure, and this was shown in chapters 22 and the following.
Discussion
The first chapter started when James Watson met his colleague Francis Crick in the year 1951, who was an intelligent man though he was not famous then. Crick and Watson’s unit at the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University was supervised by a chemist Max Perutz and Lawrence Bragg, the Laboratory director. The primary reason for their stay at the Laboratory was to empirically investigate the structure of the proteins.
It was described that the Cavendish was some kind of a shabby chemical laboratory at the University, and it appears to be widely different from colleges in the US. Inside the University, there are a number of small colleges that are gathered as one, and each represents a faculty that offers a tutorial program for students. At the college dining hall, Watson noted the elevated platform of a high table which, according to hi, gives a chance for the tutors to carefully observe the acts and behavior of the students. Upon meeting Crick, Watson describes him as an active man who has got a lot of enthusiasm in all his principles.
Thus, Watson told himself that the life of a scientist is interesting in both social and intellectual manner. Although he was busy with his experiments, he still finds time to put a social aspect in his life through the midnight trips to waterfront bars and other activities he was into.
The purpose of Watson entering the University is to study the molecular structure of the proteins through an exemplar of a 3D or three-dimensional system, which will give a realistic approach to the study. Being close to CrickCrick, who also has interests in DNA discoveries, they started to exchange ideas and perceptions, which apparently resulted in a deeper investigation of the matter. However, studying the DNA molecules requires a skill in crystallography to be able to have a better view of the molecules through the use of an X-ray because DNA molecules are too microscopic in size and presenting a vague view in a microscopic.
Hence a crystallized form is required, and this should be seen in an x-ray. Hence, a drastic companionship arises through other scientists, and a conflict prevailed between Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. This was primarily accounted for the questions of ethics in the midst of competition among them through the knowledge involving the discovery of DNA structure. However, the male scientists have been good companions, and because of Franklin’s portrayal of being a belligerent woman, she seemed to be left out with the social companionship of the other three scientists.
But still, they considered her and realize that they need her knowledge and skills for the completion of the study because she is more knowledgeable in using such tools needed for further observations about the DNA structure. And, this is a way to compete with Linus Pauling, who also pushes a study regarding the same matter. Watson and CrickCrick know the circumstances, though, so they decided to concentrate on every substance that they may acquire from Franklin to have a better foundation in winning over the experiment of Pauling.
In addition, a chapter has focused on personality issues that revolved in the story rather than the scientific ideas and t indeed accounted for the interesting reality. The turning points in personalities, the tensions among the competing minds and the friendship that created a bond for the collaboration of the colleagues in order to come out with a single idea have illustrated the development of each personality in parallel with the step-by-step discoveries of the experiment. Talking Pauling earlier, he has been successful in different areas of sciences and, in fact, had been awarded a Nobel Prize and regarded him with a par excellence.
And thus, Watson also viewed him as an intelligent man who has emerged in the experimentations of proteins in the model of DNA as well as creating a line that will open up a particular writing to it. This was attributed to the creation of a paper and wire models of the amino acid chains in proteins which is specifically polypeptides, and twisted them into an assortment of probable shapes. Apparently, he compared these models with the real data to know and observe that any of them relates with assessing the X-ray patterns. It originally came from an alpha- helical pattern of protein folding that was solved.
Certainly, Watson was learning from the paths of Pauling and applied these ideas on his own thinking but a dilemma seems to be visible in acquiring data as a foundation for the work and the only data available was on the chemical information about the nature of the polynucleotide chains which basically compose the DNA.
Specifically in chapter ten of the book, this opened the evidence that Franklin is indeed a genius upon giving a lecture regarding the DNA. However, Watson neglected to take the important notes on the lecture and insisted that he will remember everything through his memory. The point of the seminar highlighted the critical thinking of Franklin in creating a double- helix model. Franklin was not into the use of molecular models to come out with a conclusion about structures, as what Watson cleared.
Watson as well-considered her lack of enthusiasm in using a model- building as unhelpful though it helped to consider for her as an assertion of developing more data that will probably be the answer to the curiosity and experiment of the structure of DNA. However, Watson did not give much importance with the talk. But his attention was caught by the measurement of water in the DNA samples which accounts as an element in getting food diffraction pictures of DNA.
About a year had passed, Watson and Crick decided to conduct an experiment, but a big error was committed because of the wrong information that Watson gave to CrickCrick. Watson missed a very important detail which Franklin gave in her lecture, and due to Watson’s disregard in taking down notes, he did not remembered the exact idea about where to put the backbone. The big error fell into the model that they created upon the appearance of the backbone inside. Upon finishing their model, with an excitement for their proposal, it was negatively turned down by Franklin and Wilkins because of the big mistake that they made and though it was not just a big mistake but also unreasonable.
Consequently, the failure they made caused them to abort the experiment due to the order of Lawrence Bragg and instead focus on their respective studies wherein Watson concentrated on his Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV). But that did not end Watson’s perseverance in discovering the structure of DNA though. Watson though that one essential element of the TMV was a nucleic acid and this fit his exploration and pursued his experiments about DNA because the two relates. Watson faced a lot of struggles during the course and had to convince the United States to retain his sponsorship with regard to the scientific studies he was conducting, and this was because he feared that he might lose his research if the sponsorship will be lost.
There came the part which started the climax of the story wherein the serendipitous discovery of Watson toward the double- helix prevailed. The arrival Peter Pauling, the son of Linus Pauling, marked them the fear of being defeated in their some kind of a scientific competition on the discovery of the DNA structure. However, Peter Pauling, Watson and Crick became friends. Pauling was the one who opened that his father was publishing a proposal for the structure of the DNA. Obviously, Watson felt alarmed and hence he carefully reviewed the work of Linus Pauling and found a big mistake with his knowledge that the nucleic acid of Pauling was not actually an acid anymore and without the hydrogen atoms, the chains will easily disperse or break up and the structure will eventually fade out.
As a result, he consulted a lot of colleagues regarding the mistake and considered the mistake as a simple one that had been disregarded, but it greatly affects the whole structure and largely brings an impact to the idea. Apparently, Watson and CrickCrick waited for the perceptions and feedback of the experts with the proposal and with the expected result, they became more motivated to pursue their research and present a better proposal that will more likely commit no mistakes.
The main climax of the story was depicted on the 22nd chapter wherein the Watson narrated his and Crick’sCrick’s gradual discovery of the DNA structure. Pater Pauling showed the preprint copy of his father’s work and there illustrates a triple- helix model of DNA. The major aspect of the model was the positioning of the sugar- phosphate backbone in the middle of the structure which Pauling proposed that hydrogen bonds held the strands together.
But regrettably, a problem seemed to occur for the model. In able for the hydrogen bonds to form, the oxygen atoms that were included in the group of the phosphate would need to have hydrogen atoms that are bound to them. Although in a real cellular pH, the hydrogen atoms should have been separated and the group of the phosphate should have been negatively charged. This proved that the proposal of Pauling was somehow unviable. Watson and CrickCrick were undoubtedly sure that Pauling was wrong and had seen a way in which they can propose a better revision of the proposal presenting the correct information.
Watson described the various experiments they have tried at the end chapters of the book before coming out with a concrete series of the four nitrogen bases in each DNA strand. To be able to have a positive result of their primary objective, Watson returned to Wilkins to have a better look at the X rays wherein he and CrickCrick used this as a pattern for the model that they planned to. Watson was delighted when he found out that Wilkins had been secretly keeping a copy of Franklin’s notes. He also saw a photo of an X-ray which added more ideas about the development of the structure. Watson in fact, sketched a helix- shaped molecule on a newspaper and made a conclusion that the molecules are composed of two strands of DNA which is a double helix.
The disagreements of Franklin on the anti- helical compositions of the DNA X-ray patterns was relatively for the structure of an A-form DNA which has a very minimal amount of water. Actually, it has an anti- helical composition in its pattern of diffraction. Those compositions likely took a lot of years to work out. After some time, a different form of DNA was illustrated by Wilkins to Watson and this is the B- form. This is overtly a helical one and Franklin depicted that as well.
Watson insisted on the idea that Franklin was an anti- helical person in all instances that they had. Empirically observing the B- form of the structure, considering the fact that Watson did not have any concrete knowledge of crystallography, he was amazed when he saw a black cross at the center of the structure, and this can only be seen in a helical molecule. As the book went by, the success of Watson was revealed and productively came out with a double- helix structure of a DNA. Above all, the most important substance in the book is that the observation that vital biological objects should appear in pairs is some what a level of being narrow though but it should be highlighted in the sense of the properties of DNA.
Conclusion
The serendipitous discovery of Watson on the double- helix DNA generally figured out by the collaboration of the significant persons who contributed for the discovery. Watson accounted for each information and knowledge that he got from his colleagues and applied this through his own understanding and critical thinking. What separated Watson from other scientists was his full determination of learning and acquiring the end product with an open- mindedness trait and continuous passion for unraveling the curiosity inside him.
It is somehow viewed as a serendipitous discovery because of the traces that Watson followed through the entire discovery from other people’s perspectives. What made him won was his personal enthusiasm, and he undoubtedly possessed the characters of a true scientist at the end of the day.