The greatest discoveries do not come from a single source. It takes many different sources coming together into one, a collection of information to lead to a significant discovery. For example, in what seemed like a race for the double helix, several scientists had to make excellent progress in their work. all the different discoveries related to the broad topic of DNA had to be stitched together in order to definitively discover the true structure of DNA. to come about.Frederick Douglas, born in Hale, England in 1879, was a bacteriologist who made the first progressive movement in acquiring knowledge relating to the structure of DNA. In 1928 he reported one of the first experiments suggesting that bacteria are capable of transferring genetic information through transformation. In his experiment, formally known as the Griffith experiment, he used two strains of Streptococcus Pneumoniae (pneumococcal) bacteria to infect mice. The two types were Type III-S and Type II-R. Type III-S had a protective capsule that could protect it from the host's immune system. In the experiment, type III-S strain bacteria were killed by heat and then the remains were added to strain II-R bacteria. While neither strain alone was harmful to the mice, the combination was lethal. looking at blood tests of dead mice. Griffith found live strains of both bacteria. He concluded that type III-S transformed into type II-R. This experiment demonstrated that traits can be transferred from one organism to another. it was one of the first experiments to suggest that DNA was the genetic code because heat denatures proteins, thus ruling out the possibility that proteins were the genetic code. At that time, DNA was still poorly… middle of paper… the structure of nucleic acids and its importance for the transfer of information in living matter. They are both well known for their discovery of the double helix in 1953. Although Watson and Crick were the ones who came out on top, discovering the double helix, it would not have been possible without the assistance of many other scientists; Rosalind Franklin in particular. Rosalind Franklin's stunning DNA imaging and research into the location of phosphate groups was what allowed Watson and Crick to complete their model. She was a brilliant scientist and unfortunately she didn't get credit for her amazing discovery. Rosalind Franklin died at the age of 37 from ovarian cancer, which is believed to be an effect of the work to which she dedicated her life. Working with X-ray crystallography exposed her to excessive radiation that caused cancer.