Open AccessA Speculative History of DNA: What If Oswald Avery Had Died in 1934?
Author(s) -
Matthew Cobb
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.127
H-Index - 271
eISSN - 1545-7885
pISSN - 1544-9173
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001197
Subject(s) - biology , function (biology) , dna , the imaginary , genealogy , genetics , evolutionary biology , history , psychoanalysis , psychology
This speculative Essay explores the consequences of the imagined premature death of Oswald Avery, who in 1944 provided evidence that genes are made of DNA. Four imaginary alternate routes to the genetic function of DNA are outlined, each of which highlights different aspects of the actual process of discovery.