“This figure is purely diagrammatic.”

A visual representation of Watson and Crick’s model was crucial to show how the components of DNA fit together in a double helix. In 1953, Crick’s wife, Odile, drew the diagram used to represent DNA in this paper.

Scientists use many different kinds of visual representations of DNA. Here are a few:

Illustration credits (top to bottom): National Cancer Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute, Exploratorium, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, Exploratorium

© exploratorium