PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsCrick Cambridge college commemoration

BioNews

Crick Cambridge college commemoration

Published 26 April 2013 posted in News and appears in BioNews 702

Author

Purvi Shah

PET BioNews

A memorial to Francis Crick has been unveiled at his former college at the University of Cambridge to mark the 60th anniversary of the publication of the structure of DNA...

A memorial to Francis Crick has been unveiled at his former college at the University of Cambridge to mark the 60th anniversary of the publication of the structure of DNA.

A tribute relief in the archway of the Great Gate at Gonville and Caius was unveiled by Crick's former colleagues James Watson and Sydney Brenner to commemorate his life and work.

Crick and Watson described the double helix structure of DNA in a 1953 edition of Nature and their research paved the way to understanding and 'cracking' the genetic code. Along with Maurice Wilkins, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for their discovery.

'It was one of the most important papers ever published and we sort of knew that when it came out', Watson said at the unveiling of the memorial.

Professor Sir Alan Fersht, master of Caius College, said: 'It's roughly equivalent to the theory of relativity, discovering the laws of gravity and it's the keystone of modern biology'.

Crick went on to work alongside Brenner working out the sequences of DNA bases that correspond to the amino acids used to make protein. Now retired, Watson went on to lead the US division of the Human Genome Project from 1988 to 1992 that eventually drafted the first complete human genome in 2000.

Crick's ground-breaking research provided the fundamental platform that paved new ways of thinking about genetic diagnosis, treatments, and genetic screening as well as opening up new areas in genetics such as cloning and genetic modification. Watson said Crick was the 'brightest person I ever interacted with'.

The event was sponsored by the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) and the Agouron Institute, and included a series of lectures given by colleagues and historians of science.

A seven-page letter written by Crick to his son describing the idea of the double helix structure and genetic replication recently sold at auction for $6 million, with the Nobel prize medal attracting over $2 million at another (reported in BioNews 700). Large donations from the proceeds were made to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California, USA and the new Francis Crick Institute in London.

Related Articles

PET BioNews
News
12 April 2013 • 2 minutes read

Francis Crick's Nobel prize and DNA letter sold for millions

by Dr Shanya Sivakumaran

The Nobel prize won by Francis Crick, a British scientist, for his part in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, and a handwritten letter recounting this discovery to his 12-year-old son, have been sold for over $8 million this week....

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
Comment
18 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

What they said about Francis Crick

by Juliet Tizzard

The recent death of Francis Crick, who, with James Watson, discovered the structure of DNA, has prompted a wave of adoring comment from obituary writers, news journalists and fellow scientists alike. And rightly so. As our news story on his death describes, Crick contributed not just to the discovery of...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Francis Crick, a founding father of genetics, has died

by BioNews

He has been described as 'the Charles Darwin of the 20th century' by Professor Steve Jones of University College London and as 'the dominant hero of the heroic age of molecular biology' by Professor Richard Dawkins of Oxford University. He was a Nobel prize winner, a Fellow of the Royal...

PET BioNews
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Crick archive most Wellcome

by BioNews

The entire scientific archive of Francis Crick - one of the two British men who discovered the double-helical structure of DNA - is to be displayed in London. The Wellcome Trust has bought the archive, which includes letters, research papers and laboratory notebooks, for £1.8 million. Francis Crick was negotiating with a...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Autism mechanism goes beyond genes

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Complex structures of the human heart bioengineered

8 August 2022 • 1 minute read

Brain tumour gene also linked to childhood cancers

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856