Francis Crick(1916-2004)
Crick attended Northhampton Grammar School and, after moving to London, Mill Hill School. Even at school, his interest was primarily in the natural sciences - physics, chemistry and mathematics. So he decided to study physics at University College London. He graduated in 1937 and immediately began his doctoral studies. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 initially interrupted his training, but Crick continued to work for the British Admiralty as a scientist, mainly in connection with the development of magnetic and acoustic mines. In 1940 Crick married Ruth Doreen Dodd, and their son Michael Crick was born from this union. The couple divorced in 1947. After the war ended, Crick remained in the Navy for another two years. During this time he read the book "What is life? The physical aspects of Living Cell" by the physicist Erwin Schrödinger. From then on he became enthusiastic about the connection between physics and biology.
He left the Navy in 1947 and began studying biology. In Cambridge he initially worked at the Strangeways Research Laboratory, then in 1949 he moved to the Cavendish Laboratory. Meanwhile, he married again. With his wife Odile Speed he had two daughters, Gabrielle and Jacqueline Crick. In 1952, Crick met the young American biologist James Watson at the Cavendish Laboratory, with whom he developed a close collaboration. The two young scientists were interested in how the DNA molecule - the genetic information - is structured and how the genetic information it contains is passed on. With the help of the scientific work of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, they finally created a model of the DNA molecule (deoxyribonucleic acid) in 1953: the "Watson-Crick model". As a result, DNA consists of two strands wound around each other - i.e. a double helix - which are connected to each other by bases arranged in pairs.
On April 25, 1953, both researchers presented their work results in the article "The molecular structure of nucleic acids": DNA as a three-dimensional model of a molecule. It became clear that the individual strands do not destroy each other during their identical reproduction, but rather serve as a template for the formation of another, new, complementary strand. It was probably his enthusiasm for his own work that prompted Crick to name his house "Golden Helix". In 1962, Crick, Watson and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. Rosalind Franklin, whose work provided the scientific basis, came away empty-handed. In the same year Crick became director of the Molecular Biology Institute at Cambridge University and associate professor at the Californian "Salk Institute". In 1966, Crick wrote the book "Of Molecules and Men," in which he described the impact of the burgeoning research discipline of "biochemistry." In 1975 he finally went to the "Salk Institute" and increasingly focused on neurobiology. He was primarily concerned with consciousness research.
He later turned his interest to the processing of visual perception in the brain. Numerous other scientific papers and popular science books followed. For example, "Life itself: Its Origin and Nature", in which he suggests that the origin of life on earth could come from another planet and "What the soul really is. The scientific study of consciousness". In it he provides a neurobiological view of the nature of the soul.
Francis Crick died of colon cancer on July 29, 2004 at Thornton Hospital in La Jolla, California.
He left the Navy in 1947 and began studying biology. In Cambridge he initially worked at the Strangeways Research Laboratory, then in 1949 he moved to the Cavendish Laboratory. Meanwhile, he married again. With his wife Odile Speed he had two daughters, Gabrielle and Jacqueline Crick. In 1952, Crick met the young American biologist James Watson at the Cavendish Laboratory, with whom he developed a close collaboration. The two young scientists were interested in how the DNA molecule - the genetic information - is structured and how the genetic information it contains is passed on. With the help of the scientific work of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, they finally created a model of the DNA molecule (deoxyribonucleic acid) in 1953: the "Watson-Crick model". As a result, DNA consists of two strands wound around each other - i.e. a double helix - which are connected to each other by bases arranged in pairs.
On April 25, 1953, both researchers presented their work results in the article "The molecular structure of nucleic acids": DNA as a three-dimensional model of a molecule. It became clear that the individual strands do not destroy each other during their identical reproduction, but rather serve as a template for the formation of another, new, complementary strand. It was probably his enthusiasm for his own work that prompted Crick to name his house "Golden Helix". In 1962, Crick, Watson and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. Rosalind Franklin, whose work provided the scientific basis, came away empty-handed. In the same year Crick became director of the Molecular Biology Institute at Cambridge University and associate professor at the Californian "Salk Institute". In 1966, Crick wrote the book "Of Molecules and Men," in which he described the impact of the burgeoning research discipline of "biochemistry." In 1975 he finally went to the "Salk Institute" and increasingly focused on neurobiology. He was primarily concerned with consciousness research.
He later turned his interest to the processing of visual perception in the brain. Numerous other scientific papers and popular science books followed. For example, "Life itself: Its Origin and Nature", in which he suggests that the origin of life on earth could come from another planet and "What the soul really is. The scientific study of consciousness". In it he provides a neurobiological view of the nature of the soul.
Francis Crick died of colon cancer on July 29, 2004 at Thornton Hospital in La Jolla, California.