1. The discovery of the molecular structure of DNA (1953)

DNA is the substance that makes up genes. The model of DNA devised by American biologist James D. Watson and British biologist Francis H. C. Crick led to a fundamental understanding of the molecular basis of life, heredity, aging, and many genetically transmitted diseases.

The rapid advances in biochemistry and molecular biology that followed this discovery produced many practical applications in human health care. Notable applications included gene therapy, which offers hope for treating Alzheimer's and AIDS; and genetic engineering, which has been used to produce the human proteins needed to treat diabetes. The ongoing Human Genome Project is attempting to map the entire set of chemical instructions that control heredity in human beings and may be completed within a few years.

 

Marianna A. Busch is the Chair and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Baylor University. Her Top 10 list centers on the most important scientific events of the 1900's. She discusses what these events meant to scientists and society in general. She calls attention to a number of the groundbreaking scientists who left their mark on the world of science in this century.

1.

The discovery of the molecular structure of DNA (1953)

2. The invention of the transistor (1947)
3. The first use of penicillin (1928)
4.

Development of the atomic bomb (1940's)

5. The launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union (Oct. 4, 1957)
6. Construction of the first laser (1960)
7. The development of new plants and the Green Revolution (mid-1900's)
8. The beginning of nuclear physics (early 1900's)
9. The development of quantum theory (early 1900's)
10. The publication of Silent Spring (1962)