Biology: The Story of DNA

In this class we will discuss the historical scientific experiments that led to the discovery that DNA was the genetic material. We will discuss famous experiments from the 1920s through to the 1950s that helped lead to the definition of DNA as the genetic material.   There is much more to this story than Watson and Crick, starting with Mendel and pushed along by many famous experiments in the 20th century. This class will cover the scientific method, the structure and function of the four bio-molecules, the structure and chemical make-up of DNA, and the race to find the genetic material. We will go over the ground breaking discoveries of Griffith, Avery, Hershey, Chase and Franklin. Students will learn the role that these scientists played in the discovery of DNA as the genetic material and learn the distinction between them and Watson and Crick, who determined the structure of DNA. Class will be part lecture, part discussion and include group work in breakout rooms.