Watson here gave details about his X-ray studies of the structure of RNA (ribonucleic acid), the single-stranded companion molecule to DNA which is an essential intermediary in protein synthesis. His warning that "it will be a nasty job to prove existence of 20 specific cavities" in RNA (p.3) was a reference to George Gamow's idea that genes could provide a direct, physical template for the twenty amino acids that form the polypeptide chains of which proteins are made up.
Item is handwritten.
Number of Image Pages:
4 (816,139 Bytes)
Date:
1954-12-11 (December 11, 1954)
Creator:
Watson, James D.
Recipient:
Crick, Francis
Source:
Original Repository: Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine. Francis Harry Compton Crick Papers
