This page discusses the 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Francis Crick and James D. Watson, which confirmed DNA as the physical basis of genes. This work illustrated DNA's role i...This page discusses the 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Francis Crick and James D. Watson, which confirmed DNA as the physical basis of genes. This work illustrated DNA's role in replication and genetic transmission, leading to their Nobel Prize win in 1962.