Nobel Lectures in Molecular Biology 1933-1975.

BALTIMORE, David; Renato Dulbecco; James D. Watson.

$3,800.00

Item Number: 116314

New York: Elsevier, 1977.

First edition of this collection of lectures related to molecular biology delivered by Nobel Laureates between 1933 and 1975. Octavo, original wrappers. Signed on the half-title page by David Baltimore, Renato Dulbecco and James D. Watson and by each at the first page of their contribution, for a total of six signatures. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable.

Molecular biology arose as an attempt to answer the questions regarding the mechanisms of genetic inheritance and the structure of a gene. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published the double helical structure of DNA courtesy of the X-ray crystallography work done by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Watson and Crick described the structure of DNA and the interactions within the molecule. This publication jump-started research into molecular biology and increased interest in the subject. In 1962, all three were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".