This contribution from the Office of NIH History is an historical summary of how the genetic code was broken, with a nod to Mendel, the telling of the story of Avery et al and Watson and Crick (the discovery that DNA is the genetic material), and ending with Nirenberg's and Matthei's resolution of the genetic code. It includes many of the seminal ideas (and misteps!) on our way to understanding the nature of genetic information. From the introduction, this is an "exhibit" that "will explore genetics research in the 1950s and 1960s...".
Type of Material:
Text
Recommended Uses:
Background reading or reference.
Technical Requirements:
HTML
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Historical understanding of the research that lead to deciphering the genetic code.
Target Student Population:
High school or college
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Genetics
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Well laid out and written.
Images of actual instruments used in the 1950's and 1960's
Does a good job humanizing research, and illustrating how many scientists contribute to advances in our understanding of biology.
The biographical approach, complete with photos of the scientists, provide a good sense of historicity.
Experiments are described succinctly; level of deatil is suitable for the target audience.
Concerns:
Two historically significant items are omitted.
First is the discovery of bacterial transformation by Griffith which later led directly to Avery et al.'s work. Griffith's work of the 1920's was motivated by the influenza epidemic of the late teens, and so has particular resonance these days.
Second is the work of Hershey and Chase which convinced the scientific community that DNA was indeed the genetic molecule.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Provides a well-written and engaging historical background to part of the DNA/genetic code story that is routinely presented in introductory biology courses.
Concerns:
To be complete and accurate, the history should begin with Griffith's motives leading to the discovery of bacterial transformation (see above), include the rational basis for Hershey and Chase's study of viral infection, and end with a consideration of Nirenberg's rationale for using of synthetic triplets (codons) to finish deciphering the code.
Not very interactive or engaging for students.
Aren't any lessons or take home messages for the students. It would even be difficult to write an assignment with this site that wasn't just reciting historical facts.
Some links to the structure of DNA,
animations of translation, etc would greatly impact the teaching effectiveness of this site.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Easy to navigate with no broken links.
Well organized and easy to read.
Creative Commons:
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