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Topic: Watson and Crick question on DNA  (Read 6745 times)

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Offline fifa2005xbox

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Watson and Crick question on DNA
« on: November 08, 2008, 11:16:02 AM »
> Watson and Crick's model allowed them to predict: (Please choose all correct
> answers)
>
> That the two strands of the DNA double helix were antiparallel
>
> How purines and pyrimidines fit together in the double helix
>
> How the DNA sequences coded for proteins
>
> The chemical bonds in DNA"
>

The first one is definitely correct but which others are correct? I would have thought just the first one but apparently one or two others are correct...

Offline shelanachium

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Re: Watson and Crick question on DNA
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2008, 05:53:36 AM »
All but the third - they established the STRUCTURE of DNA but the Genetic Code was worked out later, as the DNA structure alone does not yield this information.

Offline aHerraez

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Re: Watson and Crick question on DNA
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2009, 06:11:46 AM »
The 4th is debatable: surely the chemical bonds had been established before Watson & Crick built their model.

Offline Arkcon

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Re: Watson and Crick question on DNA
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2009, 06:31:54 AM »
The 4th is debatable: surely the chemical bonds had been established before Watson & Crick built their model.


Possibly, but not likely.  Hydrogen bonding, the type that makes DNA have it's particular structure, is pretty weak.  It is widely mentioned, that when they built their first model, it was something of an "A-ha" moment -- each hydrogen bond is weak, but two or three per base, that makes it strong and stable.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

Offline aHerraez

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Re: Watson and Crick question on DNA
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2009, 07:12:08 AM »
Aha, you're right. I meant the covalent bonds, defining the primary structure.

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