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How Do Genes Work? > Research Links
Chapter 11 introduced you to DNA as the hereditary material of living things, and it
provided examples of how an understanding of gene function can aid us in understanding
heritable disease. The Websites below can help you learn more about the experiments that
led to our current understanding of genes as heritable material.
11.1 DNA as the Hereditary Material
Oswald Avery
This site describes the life and work of Oswald Avery, one of the leading researchers in the
early days of molecular biology. Avery's simple experiments showed that nucleic acids, as opposed
to proteins, were the physical component of heritable information. Follow the links to the Avery
Collection to read some of his early papers, as well as correspondence to other well-known early
molecular biologists.
Keywords: Avery, DNA, transformation
Flybase
This site is a huge source of information about the genetics and molecular biology of
Drosophila, drawing its data and literature from the Drosophila Genome Project and current
journals. Follow the links to see how the molecular characteristics of the Drosophila genome
relate to the transmission of genetic information.
Keywords: Drosophila, genetics, traits
11.2 What Do Genes Do?
Timeline of Work in Molecular Biology
This set of pages describes the milestones in the history of molecular biology. Follow the links to see how researchers slowly put together the puzzle of the structure, function, and biochemistry of heredity.
Keywords: history, DNA, molecular biology
Featured Genes
This site, from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, provides a selected list
of human diseases, the genes known to be associated with the disease symptoms, and the locations
of the genes in the human genome. Many of the genes and associated diseases have links to medical
information and organizations dedicated to battling the disease.
Keywords: disease, chromosomes, mutation
11.3 The Genetic Code
Base Pairing in DNA
This site, from George Mason University, provides a great overview of biochemistry and
associated enzymes of DNA. Follow the "Watson–Crick Model" link to read the famous paper
in which James Watson and Francis Crick laid out their argument for the structure of DNA,
ending with the now-famous comment, "It has not escaped our notice that the specific
pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the
genetic material."
Keywords: DNA, double helix, base pairing
The Invention of the Genetic Code
This article describes some of the history of the quest to understand the structure
and function of nucleic acids and the genetic code. Throughout the article there are
interesting explanations of some of the discarded hypotheses that were investigated—including some by the famous physicists of the 20th century, such as Richard Feynman and
Edward Teller.
Keywords: DNA, double helix, history
11.4 The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
National Human Genome Research Institute
This site provides information on current research and issues related to the sequencing and
understanding of the human genome. "In the News" provides links to the latest findings in the
quickly changing field of molecular biology.
Keywords: research, genetics, human genome
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2003
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