Science
Jerry Donohue
Chemical-structure adviser to the DNA model
Who they are
Jerry Donohue supplied chemical advice that Watson and Crick acknowledged in their 1953 DNA model paper. This record illustrates the importance of chemical constraints alongside geometrical modelling and X-ray evidence. The paper’s credit is an acknowledgment of assistance; Donohue was not one of its two named authors.
He makes an acknowledged contribution behind the DNA model visible without confusing assistance with authorship.
Selected contributions
- Provided chemical advice explicitly credited by Watson and Crick.Source ↗
Primary records
Academic paper · 1953
Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid
Watson and Crick propose two DNA chains with complementary base pairs and suggest an implication for copying. Their short paper acknowledges experimental and chemical evidence supplied by other researchers and calls for further testing.
Reading scope & citation
Reuses documented prior inspection: Full transcribed article read; header’s April 2 is the manuscript date, checked against Nature’s publication metadata. Minor transcription typos not reproduced. Reuses the input’s documented prior inspection: Full transcribed article read; header’s April 2 is the manuscript date, checked against Nature’s publication metadata. Minor transcription typos not reproduced. No fresh full-work reread in this directory pass.
In the timeline
Biography sources
- Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid ↗Nature 171, 737–738; transcription hosted by California State University, Stanislaus