Essay - The Double Helix Originally Published in 1968, the Double Helix...

The Double Helix

***** published in 1968, The Double Helix is James D. Watson's personal account of the journey towards ***** discovery of the structure of DNA. Because it is aimed at a general audience, ***** Double Helix ***** not bogged down by scientific jargon, even though Watson does present many of his technical f*****dings and includes a few ch*****rts ***** diagrams related to his DNA-related discoveries. The Double Helix reads like a personal memoir, which is why ***** book has met with such wide critical and popular success and has been in continuous publication since it was first released. ***** ***** his Cambridge colleague Francis Crick earned themselves the Nobel Prize for their discoveries, and the accolades were well-deserved. Watson ***** Crick's names will go down in the annals ***** history. However, as Watson describes ***** this *****, the journey towards the ***** of the structure of DNA w***** not a smooth one. Through blunt and honest self-a*****areness and a bold analysis ***** ***** politics within the ***** community, Watson explains how his ***** Crick's discoveries were closely linked with the discoveries of *****ir fellow scientists. Science, ***** any other pr*****ession, can be a competitive and ***** cutthroat business. Its prime participants vie for the fame and recognition that only a few scientists receive. ***** W*****tson ***** Francis Crick were as much lucky and clever ***** they were brilliant and perceptive.

***** Double ***** begins with the background information leading up to ***** scientific breakthrough. An American studying at Cambridge, Watson ***** with older colleague Crick at the prestigious Cavendish Laboratory. Watson pays homage to the scientists who laid the foundation and groundwork for the discovery of DNA's double helix structure: Linus Pauling, Maurice Wilkens, and Rosalind Franklin. The discovery ***** the double helix was largely due to some preliminary work in x-raying protein strains. Moreover, DNA itself had already been discovered. What Watson and Crick did ***** to elucidate *****'s fundamental purpose as the "building block of life." The scientists showed how DNA replicated itself and how it contains ***** genes that are blueprints of living organisms.

There are two distinct facets of The Double Helix. First, the book reads like a ***** account of interpersonal relationships. At times Watson even comes across as being a *****ssip: "admittedly, ***** sight of Francis mulling over the consequences of Rosy's ***** when it w***** hardly out of her m*****h ********** have *****set Maurice," (76). However, Watson provides ***** details ***** illustrate how the world of science is not immune from basic human emotions ***** egotistical drives. Through the recollection of specific conversations and events, ***** fulfills the task ***** showing the ***** public how the ***** of science operates, and ***** ***** are not the rational automatons that they might seem to be. Especially in Chapters 9 ***** 11, Watson offers insight into the personality of ***** ***** and ***** Nobel ***** recipient ***** Crick. These chapters are ***** unique in *****ir frankness but reflect the *****all theme ***** the