150. Through X-ray crystallography, Pauling's triple helix model was disproven and it was shown that the hydrogen bond-forming purines and pyrimidines face the centre and are attached to a phosphodiester backbone.
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Answer:
DNA Structure Solved
Two British-based groups are often credited with the discovery of the structure of DNA - the famous double helix (or twisted ladder). One group was based in Cambridge and included the experienced Francis Crick and the young and self-confident James Watson. The second group was based at King's College, London, and was led by Maurice Wilkins. Wilkins was later joined at King's by Rosalind Franklin, a sharp but acerbic scientist who specialised in X-ray crystallography. This rather arcane field seems daunting, but was the key to the discovery of the structure of DNA and remains the leading method for structural analysis of proteins (a rapidly developing area of study). At the same time, Linus Pauling was working on the structure of DNA in America. Pauling was a giant in the field of structural biology and when he announced he had discovered the structure of DNA, the British groups felt resigned. However, it soon became clear that Pauling's triple helix model did not fit with the excellent X-ray images of Rosalind Franklin. It is unjust that, despite it being her images that led to the development of the double helix model, Rosalind Franklin is often written out of the history books. Some put this down to sexism (which may have some truth), but it may also be due to her passing away before the Nobel Prize was awarded to Crick, Watson, and Wilkins.