The Discovery and Study of Nucleic Acids: the Evolution of Understanding Their Role and Importance in Cellular Life (Marking the 155th Anniversary of Their Discovery)

Science owes the discovery of nucleic acids to the Swiss scientist Johann Friedrich Miescher (1844–1895). In 1869, he discovered a new substance of unknown nature, containing nitrogen and phosphorus, in the cell nuclei of leukocytes, and named this substance nuclein. Then he discovered this substance in the nuclei of various cells, and also suggested their role and significance in cells. The study of nucleic acids started by chemists was continued by biologists and doctors. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, various aspects of the characteristics of nucleic acids were successfully studied by A. Kossel, A.N. Belozersky, A.N. Spirin, N.K. Koltsov, A. Todd, A. Claude, K. De Duve, D. Palade, E. Chargaff. Of outstanding importance for progress in the study of nucleic acids were the work on deciphering the structure of DNA (R. Franklin, D. Watson, F. Crick, M. Wilkins, A. Hershey, S. Luria, M. Delbruck), work on establishing the mechanism of protein synthesis (A.M. Lvov, F. Jacob, J.L. Monod), research on artificial synthesis DNA and RNA (H.G. Koran et al.) At the end of the twentieth century, based on the integration of molecular biology and genetics, a new direction in biology emerged – genetic engineering, whose tasks are to introduce foreign genes into the genome of cells in order for these cells to acquire new properties or to replace defective genes. On the basis of genetic engineering, gene therapy has emerged. Assisted reproductive technologies began to be introduced into the clinic. The field of genetic engineering has achieved great development, aimed at rearranging the bacterial genome in order to use them as sources of synthesis of many biologically active substances that are extremely necessary for humans.

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