A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid Updated +Created
Starting line:
We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A,). This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.
The Eighth Day of Creation explains the "salt" part as that was the usual way to prepare DNA for X-ray crystallography, where something binds with the phosphate groups of DNA
The paper then shoots down other previously devised helical structures, notably some containing 3 strands or phosphate on the inside.
Then they briefly describe their structure, and promise more details on future articles. This was mostly a short one-page priority note.
Then they drop their shell bomb conclusion:
It has not es~aped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.
Both Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin are acknowledged at the end.
Figure 1.
DNA double helix illustration from "A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid"
. Source. Drawn by Francis Crick's wife Odile Crick.