Profiles in Science Web site

PAPERS OF DNA PIONEER AND NOBEL LAUREATE FRANCIS CRICK
ADDED TO NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE'S PROFILES IN SCIENCE
WEB SITE

BETHESDA, MARYLAND - The National Library of Medicine, a
part of the National Institutes of Health, is proud to
present an extensive selection from the papers of one of
the twentieth century's greatest scientists, Francis Crick,
on its Profiles in Science Web site.

This latest collection on Profiles in Science represents a
close collaboration between the National Library of
Medicine and the Wellcome Library for the History and
Understanding of Medicine in London, which holds the Crick
papers. The Crick collection brings to 14 the number of
notable researchers and public health officials whose
personal and professional records are featured on Profiles.
The site is located at <http://www.profiles.nlm.nih.gov>.

The name of Francis Crick (1916-2004) is inextricably
linked to the discovery of the double helix of
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1953, considered the most
significant advance in biology since Darwin's theory of
evolution. The insights of Crick, and his collaborator,
James D. Watson, into the structure of DNA and into the
genetic code made possible a new understanding of heredity
at the molecular level.

"Major current advances in science and biotechnology, such
as genetic engineering, the mapping of the human genome,
and genetic fingerprinting, all have their origins in
Crick's inspired work," said Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D.,
director of the National Library of Medicine. "The double
helix has not only reshaped biology, it has become a
cultural icon, represented in sculpture, visual art,
jewelry, and toys."