Science mourns DNA pioneer Wilkins

[muriel_volestrangler]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3720060.stm

DNA pioneer Professor Maurice Wilkins has died.

Nobel Laureate Wilkins, 88, played an important role in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, the molecule that carries our "life code".

He was awarded the prize in 1962 with Francis Crick and James Watson; their co-discoverer was Rosalind Franklin.

Professor Wilkins' death comes just two months after that of Francis Crick. His autobiography, The Third Man Of The Double Helix, was published last year.

And then there was one. Good to see that the article recognises the achievement as a quartet.

[LibLabUK]

1. Hmm

"Good to see that the article recognises the achievement as a quartet"

Like nearly all science, Watson and Crick's seminal work rested squarely on the shoulders of the work done by Wilkins and Franklin.

It's a shame Franklin died before the Nobel was awarded, else she would have shared in it.