They were not the only ones involved in this discovery, however. Here's a breakdown of key contributors:
* Rosalind Franklin: Her X-ray diffraction images of DNA, particularly Photo 51, were crucial in determining the double helix structure. She played a pivotal role but sadly did not receive full credit for her work during her lifetime.
* Maurice Wilkins: He worked alongside Rosalind Franklin and provided Watson and Crick with some of Franklin's data.
* Erwin Chargaff: His research established the base pairing rules (adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine) that helped Watson and Crick build their model.
While Watson and Crick published the landmark paper in 1953, it was a collaborative effort involving many scientists.
