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Science Friday > Archives > 2003 > February > February 28, 2003:
Hour One: DNA Structure Anniversary / Farewell Pioneer 10

Fifty years ago this Friday, Francis Crick told patrons of the Eagle Pub in Cambridge that he and James Watson had 'found the secret of life.'

That secret -- the structure of DNA -- would lead to a revolution in biology and medicine. In this hour of Science Friday, Ira Flatow and guests look back at the discovery, and at what it has meant to science and the world.

Plus, a farewell to the far-flung Pioneer 10 space probe. NASA hasn't heard from the probe since January 22nd, and those signals were very faint. Officials at the space agency say that after almost 31 years of operation, the craft's power generators may have finally run dry.
at left: the plaque sent on board Pioneer 10, depicting the loaction of Earth and some information about humans. NASA image. (larger view)

Assembly of Pioneer 10.
NASA image. (larger view)

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255, and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required)

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Guests:
Victor McElheny
Author, 'Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution' (Perseus, 2003)
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Kathy Hudson
Director, Genetics and Public Policy Center
Berman Bioethics Institute
Johns Hopkins University
Washington, DC

David Baltimore
1975 Nobel Laureate in Biology or Medicine
President, California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California

Larry Lasher
Project Manager, Pioneer 10
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California

Books/Articles Discussed:

'Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution' by Victor McElheny. Perseus Publishing, 2003.

(find more SciFri books here)

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Related Links:
Watson & Crick's 1953 Paper in Nature
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Anniversary Site
NY Times: A Revolution at 50
AP anniversary story (via CNN.com)
Human Genome Project
Science Friday: June 2, 2000 - A Conversation With James Watson
Science Friday: October 25, 2002: Rosalind Franklin


This segment produced by Charles Bergquist

 


 

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