The following excerpts are from Watson and Crick's description of the structure of DNA. "The novel feature of the structure is the manner in which the two chains are held together by the purine and pyrimidine bases. The planes of the bases are perpendicular to the fibre axis. They are joined together in pairs, a single base from one chain being hydrogen-bonded to a single base from the other chain so that the two lie side by side with identical $z-$co-ordinates. One of the pair must be a purine and the other a pyrimidine for bonding to occur." "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material." What did Watson and Crick see as a possible copying mechanism?
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The following excerpts are from Watson and Crick's description of the structure of DNA. "The novel feature of the structure is the manner in which the two chains are held together by the purine and pyrimidine bases. The planes of the bases are perpendicular to the fibre axis. They are joined together in pairs, a single base from one chain being hydrogen-bonded to a single base from the other chain so that the two lie side by side with identical $z-$co-ordinates. One of the pair must be a purine and the other a pyrimidine for bonding to occur." "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material." Draw a diagram of DNA structure based on the description above.
In 1953, the scientists James Watson and Francis Crick published their landmark findings on the structure of DNA. Watson and Crick deduced the structure of DNA by unifying evidence that they collected from several scientists who were also seeking to answer this important question. Identify the pieces of evidence describing the features of DNA that Watson and Crick used to determine the structure of DNA. A purine base forms hydrogen bonds to pair with a pyrimidine base located on the opposite DNA strand. Specifically, A pairs with T, and C pairs with G. A purine base forms covalent bonds with a pyrimidine base located on the opposite DNA helix. The two chains are parallel, both running in a 5' to 3' direction. The sugar–phosphate backbones of each DNA helix run antiparallel to one another. The nitrogenous bases on each DNA helix are arranged perpendicularly to the central axis. The diameter of the DNA double helix is 2 nanometers, with each purine–pyrimidine base pair spanning an equivalent distance between the two chains.
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