Francis Crick - DNA pioneer
Nobel prize winner Francis Crick was one of Britain’s great scientists. Learn more about the man, the iconic letter, the Nobel prize win and his life-changing discovery...
Who is Francis Crick?Francis Crick Institute
Letter from Francis to his young son Michael Letter from Francis to his young son MichaelFrancis Crick Institute
In 1953, building on the works of others including Rosalind Franklin, Crick and Watson made an important discovery about the structure of DNA.
Letter from Francis to his young son Michael Letter from Francis to his young son MichaelFrancis Crick Institute
Francis sent an excited letter to his 12-year-old son Michael just before the announcement was made public in the scientific journal Nature.
Letter from Francis to his young son Michael Letter from Francis to his young son MichaelFrancis Crick Institute
The now-familiar double-helix structure of DNA may be the most common image associated with Crick, but it isn’t the most important aspect of his and Watson’s work.
Letter from Francis to his young son Michael Letter from Francis to his young son MichaelFrancis Crick Institute
The way in which the four bases of DNA pair up (A with T, C with G) has had greater significance than its overall shape.
These pairings suggested a mechanism for how genetic material is copied, a process that happens every single time one of our cells divides.
As Crick wrote to his son, “we think we have found the basic copying mechanism by which life comes from life”.
Letter from Francis to his young son Michael Letter from Francis to his young son MichaelFrancis Crick Institute
Read the full letter by clicking on the image on the bottom left of this image.
Composite photograph comprising five images of Francis Crick actively lecturing. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Library. by Francis CrickFrancis Crick Institute
Francis Crick shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the structure of DNA.
The discovery helped propel molecular biology into to the huge field of research it is today, with scientists around the world exploring how DNA controls chemical processes within our cells and provides the blueprint for all living beings.
Crick later spent nearly three decades researching the structure of proteins, the details of how genes work, how embryos develop, the inner workings of cells and the chemical origin of life.
Francis Crick inspired both colleagues and strangers. He developed theoretical principles in new research fields, which allowed other scientists to start conducting experiments, and brought scientists from different disciplines together to spark new ideas.
Crick had a habit of exploring subjects about which very little was known. Tackling questions like this, which, in his own words, “seemed beyond the power of science to explain”, could only be achieved by collaboration across disciplines and links between experimentalists and theoreticians.
The Francis Crick Institute todayFrancis Crick Institute
Today Francis Crick has given his name to one of the world’s leading biomedical research centres, The Francis Crick Institute, in the heart of London.
Find out more and see what’s on.
The institute is named after Crick not only because he is one of Britain’s greatest scientists but also because it is founded on qualities he embodied: curiosity, scientific excellence, collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach.
