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It has not escaped our notice

Saved 2026-06-10 science biology scientific-writing discovery

The thing I want to remember is the posture and the confidence of that sentence. A relatively low ego confidence. Not “these are all the consequences of our discovery.” But, rather, an invitation to the user to take that next step themselves, and to feel part of the discovery.It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.

J. D. Watson and F. H. C. Crick, A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (1953)

They have just proposed the double helix: two sides, running in opposite directions, carrying the same data through paired building blocks. The obvious next thought is heredity. If each side determines the other, then each strand can become a template for copying the genetic material.

Source:
Watson, J. D., and Crick, F. H. C. (1953). “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature, 171, 737–738.