Pedagogy in Chemistry and Biology

MILESTONES IN DNA HISTORY

The Double Helix structure of DNA is one of the most
significant discoveries of all time. James Watson, Francis
Crick and Maurice Wilkins received a Nobel Prize for the
Double Helix model of DNA in 1962! Another important
figure, without whom this discovery would not have been
possible was Rosalind Elsie Franklin. Unfortunately,
Franklin died at the age of 37 from Ovarian Cancer just
four years before the Nobel prize was awarded to Watson,
Cricks and Wilkins. It is a tremendous shame that Franklin
did not receive due credit for her essential role in this
discovery, either during her lifetime or after her untimely death... This famous
breakthrough resulted from an experiment carried out by Franklin Griffith in 1928.
He discovered that genetic information can be transferred from heat-killed bacteria
cells to live ones.
In 1944, Oswald Avery, and his colleagues Maclyn McCarty and Colin MacLeod
identified the transforming agent in Griffith's experiment as DNA.
Erwin Chargaff, a biochemist, reported that the amount of DNA and its nitrogenous
bases varies from one species to another. He also found that the amount of
adenine equals the amount of thymine, and the amount of guanine equals the
amount of cytosine in DNA from every species!
The experiment performed by Meselson and Stahl is sometimes referred to as "The
most beautiful experiment in biology." The experiment showed that DNA replication
is semi-conservative. Later on, Dr Walter Gilbert of Harvard University and
Frederick Sanger developed a method for decoding DNA. His technique sparked off
the biotech revolution because it enabled researchers to begin cloning genes.
In 1968, Robert Holley, Har Gobind Khorana, and Marshall Nirenberg shared the
Nobel prize in medicine for the elucidation of the process of protein synthesis. They
also discovered which amino acids are designated by each of the three letter
codes. They also determined that the translation of the code was universal
amongst different organisms.
In 1972, Paul Berg combined the DNA of two different organisms, thus creating the
first recombinant DNA molecules. He developed a technique for splitting DNA
molecules at selected sites, attaching segments of the molecule to the DNA of a
virus, and then introducing it into bacterial cells. The foreign DNA was incorporated
by the host, which then produced proteins not usually found in the host. This
joining of two pieces of DNA from different species is called recombinant DNA. The
process is a cornerstone of genetic engineering. He won a Nobel Prize for his work
in 1980.
On July 5, 1996, Dolly (a sheep), the first organism ever to be cloned from adult
cells, was born. Earlier, clones of other organisms such as cows and frogs had been
created from early embryo cells and not adult cells.
The Human Genome project revealed that humans have approximately 35000
genes which is lower than expected. Even an insect as simple as the fruitfly has as
many as 20000 genes.

Pedagogy in Chemistry and Biology

Given the DESCRIPTION, identify the CORRECT ANSWER

1. The Double Helix structure of DNA was first described by :
a. Watson and King
b. Oswald Avery
c.
f.

d. Peter Mitchell
e. James Watson, Francis Crick
and Maurice Wilkins

2. The scientist who first showed that genetic material is a heat stable
chemical is :

a. Franklin Griffith
b. Erwin Chargaff
e.

3. The scientist who identified the transforming agent in Griffith's

famous experiment (1928) as DNA was :

a. Erwin Chargaff
b. Oswald Avery
e.

c. Herbert Boyer
d. Hamilton Smith

5. Proof of the model of DNA replication suggested by Watson and Crick

came from the experiments of :

a. Stanley Cohen and Herbert

Boyer
b. M. S. Meselson and F. W. Stahl
e.

c. Friedrich Miescher
d. Peter Mitchell

4. The scientist who reported that DNA composition is species specific

was :

a. Erwin Chargaff
b. Sidney Brenner
e.

c. Friedrich Miescher
d. Oswald Avery

c. Sidney Brenner and Francis

Crick
d. George Beadle and Edward
Tatum

6. The scientist(s) who developed a technique to sequence DNA and

later won a Nobel prize for their achievement in 1980 is(are) :

a. Arnold Levine and Gerald

Edelman
b. Harold Varmus and Rodney
Porter
e.

c. Paul Berg
d. Walter Gilbert and Frederick
Sanger

7. The scientist who created the first recombinant DNA

molecules :

a. Paul Berg
b. Howard Temin

c. James Shapiero
d. Ian Wilmut

Pedagogy in Chemistry and Biology

e. 8. The first organism ever to be cloned from adult cells was :

a. A cow
b. Northern Leopard frogs

c. Dolly, the sheep

d. Tadpoles

e.

9. One of the surprises uncovered by the Human Genome project was

the surprisingly small number of genes that humans possess. This
number is approximately :

a.
b.
c.
d.

35000
10000
80000
60000

h.

10. Robert Holley, Har Gobind Khorana, and Marshall Nirenberg shared
the Nobel prize for medicine in 1968 for their contribution to DNA
reasearch, which was :

a.
b.
c.
d.

the
the
the
the

e.
f.
g.

discovery of the structure of DNA.

discovery of the lac(tose) operon.
elucidation of protein synthesis.
discovery of the presence of DNA which could not be expressed.

i.
j.

Solve the following crossword using the clues extracted from the text
and discover the secret word

k.
l.
m. n. o.
p.
q.
r.
s.
t.
u. v. w.
z.
aa. ab. ac. ad. ae. af.
ag.

x.

y.

ah. ai. aj. ak. al. am.an.

ap. aq. ar. as. at.

au.
av. aw. ax. ay. az. ba. bb. bc.
bd.
be.
bg. bh. bi. bj. bk. bl.
bm.
bn. bo. bp. bq. br.
bs.
bt. bu. bv. bw. bx. by. bz.
ca.
cb.
cc. cd. ce. cf. cg. ch. ci. cj. ck.
cm.
cx.

cn. co.

ao.

cl.

cp. cq. cr. cs. ct. cu. cv. cw.

1. Name of the first sheep cloned

2. any of a large group of nitrogenous compounds of high molecular weight that are
essential constituents of all living organisms
3. a very small living thing causing infection, which reproduces only within the cells of
living hosts
4. the scientific study of life or living matter in all its forms and processes:

Pedagogy in Chemistry and Biology

5. the basic structural and functional units of living organisms.
6. a distinct group, sort, or kind of individuals having some common characteristics,
as of animals or plants that can breed among themselves,
7. one of the winners of the Nobel prize in Medicine for the elucidation of the process
of protein synthesis
8. to translate (data or a message) from a code or cipher into the original language or
form.
9. female scientist who made a major contribution to the discovery of DNA
10. compounds that are one of the building blocks from which proteins are
constructed.
11. a test, trial, or set of actions, esp. one for the purpose of discovering something
unknown or of testing a principle, law, or theory
cy.
cz.
da.
db.
dc.
dd.

VIDEO LESSON: THE TWISTING TALE OF DNA

de. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_b80fHmuWw

df. Watch the video and answer the following questions

dg.1. Every cell of every living thing on earth contains all the information it
needs to create and duplicate and make variations of:
dh.

A itself

dj.

C red blood cells

di.

B any other kind of cell

dk.

D proteins

2. DNA is made of chains of four smaller molecules called:

dl.

A nucleotides

dm.

B mitochondrial bases

dn.

C life blocks

do.

D DNAblers

dp. 3.The four differing nucleotide parts, called bases, are made of a few:

dq.

A Carbon and oxygen

ds.

atoms
dr.

B hydrogen atoms

C Nitrogen and
phosphorus atoms

dt.

D All of the above

Pedagogy in Chemistry and Biology

du.4.You can think of DNA as a great library of information that exists to do

one thing only. What is that thing?
dv.

A Build other double helix dx.

models of information

dw.

worked and what didn't

B Tell the brain how dy.

to construct the body

C Store data about what

D Direct the building of

different protein molecule

dz. 5. It's infrequent, but our own nucleotide sequences can change as the
result of spontaneous or environmental damage (which might remove or
shift a nucleotide position). What does this change?
ea.

A It changes nothing because of the almost infinite combinations of

sequences.

eb.

B It changes the gene involved, and can then change the protein.

ec.

C It changes organisms into fundamentally different organisms.

ed.

D We are not certain what happens. It's never been documented.

ee.6. DNA, although a very simple molecule, can be quite confusing.

Attempt to explain the parts of DNA and how they fit together. What do
you think is most confusing about the construction of DNA?
ef. 7. The secret of life. The double helix. The building block of life.
Deoxyribonucleic acid. These are all names for what is most commonly
known as DNA. Explain why DNA has so many names.
eg.8. The double helix structure, DNA, wasn't discovered until 1953. Can
you name any other discoveries made in the last 100 years that have
had an impact on our knowledge about life as much as the discovery of
DNA? What are some notable scientists that have made major
discoveries in the fields of life science?