> [!NOTE]+ Meta > Reference:: _The Discovery of the Double Helix, 1951-1953_. (n.d.). Francis Crick - Profiles in Science. https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/sc/feature/doublehelix > Date:: 1953 > Tags:: #science > WeftLinks:: [[Creative value of craft]] [[Scientific value of craft]] > Claim:: [[Claim - The physical manipulation of materials can help solve an abstract problem]] > [!SUMMARY] Summary > The double helix was discovered by manipulation of cardboard models. [The Discovery of the Double Helix, 1951-1953 | Francis Crick - Profiles in Science](https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/sc/feature/doublehelix) Some critical scientific discoveries are made possible by the use of materials as a medium for conceptual problem solving. >On February 28, 1953, Watson, acting on Donohue's advice, put the two bases into their correct form in cardboard models by moving a hydrogen atom from a position where it bonded with oxygen to a neighboring position where it bonded with nitrogen. While shifting around the cardboard cut-outs of the accurate molecules on his office table, Watson realized in a stroke of inspiration that A, when joined with T, very nearly resembled a combination of C and G, and that each pair could hold together by forming hydrogen bonds. [[Crick and Watson DNA model.jpeg|Open: Pasted image 20240819203337.png]] ![[Crick and Watson DNA model.jpeg]] https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co146411/crick-and-watsons-dna-molecular-model