A ROUGH pencil sketch showing Francis Crick’s initial impressions of the DNA molecule has been posted on the internet as part of a project to open up the late scientist’s life and work to the public. The doodle on a scrap of A4 paper provided the first hint of the famous double helix structure of DNA. Crick, who died last July aged 88, and Dr James Watson identified the shape of DNA in 1953. The Cambridge scientist famously celebrated by going to a local pub and saying he and Dr Watson had “found the secret of life”. The breakthrough, which helped earn the pair the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962, heralded a new era of genetic science. A total of 350 text documents and images from Crick’s personal archive, including the DNA sketch, can now be viewed on the internet or downloaded. They include his original research papers on DNA and genetic codes, dating from 1948 to the 1980s. The Wellcome Trust in the UK and the United States National Library of Medicine are working together to digitise the complete collection of 11,000 items. As well as aiming to interest members of the public, it is intended to act as a guide for more in-depth research. The website, accessible at http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov is freely available for anyone to view.
