Cooperation and competition

by the Understanding Science team

During the early 1950s, the intellectual journeys of a bird biologist, an expert on the structure of coal, a designer of underwater mines, and a nuclear physicist intersected, resulting — not in a submarine explosion of feathers, as one might expect — but in a discovery that offered a glimpse of the molecular mechanisms that underlie all life, paving the way for a revolution in molecular biology. The insight, innovation, and persistence of James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins led to a detailed understanding of the structure of DNA, the stuff that genes are made of. This discovery brought together information from many disciplines and many researchers to answer one of the most fundamental questions in life science: How do living things pass on traits to their offspring?

This case study highlights the following aspects of the nature of science:

• Science can test hypotheses about things that are too small for us to observe directly.
• Science relies on communication within a diverse scientific community.
• Scientists are expected to give credit where credit is due.
• Scientific discoveries lead to ongoing research.