“It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material”

Today is the 61st anniversary of the publication of the structure of DNA in Nature by James Watson and Francis Crick. Even though there are no traditional activities for this day, we hope you celebrate it doing something fitting (sequencing your genome, perhaps?).

The U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute has a National DNA Day website geared toward teachers and students, with a host of educational materials and activities centered around DNA Day.

For a little bit of history, you can also read a letter Francis Crick wrote to his son about the discovery of the structure of DNA here. In New York City, students celebrated the occasion by submitting their DNA to the National Genographic project, revealing the diversity of genetic origins amongst New Yorkers.

And finally, if you want to celebrate how far we’ve come since 1953 (and you have a ton of time to waste), you can try your hand at 2048-exome. Sure, maybe you can sequence a whole exome, but can you get to the Nature Genetics tile?

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