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1869: DNA First Isolated
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Friedrich Miescher isolates DNA for the first time.
Miescher, a Swiss scientist, wanted to study the chemistry of cells. He chose to study white blood cells, which are abundant in pus, and were abundantly available to him in bandages from a hospital near his university. Miescher isolated a material rich in phosphorus from the cells and called it nuclein. He found nuclein in other types of cells as well, including salmon sperm. |
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1879 picture of the laboratory where Miescher isolated nuclein. The lab, a part of the University of Tübingen in southern Germany, was run by Felix Hoppe-Seyler, and located in the vaults of an old castle. |
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Last Reviewed: April 17, 2008
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