Molecular metaphors: the gene in popular discourse

D Nelkin1

  • 1New York University School of Law, Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Room 510, New York, New York 10012-1066, USA. dorothy.nelkin@nyu.edu

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Two structural features of the DNA molecule provide a basis for the mechanisms of heredity: the four nucleotide bases and its double-stranded nature. The Watson-Crick model of double-helical DNA structure, proposed in 1952, drew heavily upon the X-ray crystallography work of researchers Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in 1962. Franklin was, controversially, excluded from the prize for...
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The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are characterized.