Crystal structures of nucleic acids and their drug complexes

The proposal for the structure of the DNA double helix in 1953 is generally considered to be the point at which genetic phenomena started to be understandable in molecular and chemical terms. Indeed Watson and Crick were themselves directly dependent for their success on the chemical knowledge of nucleotides from the work of Todd and his school, as well as relying heavily on X-ray cystallographic studies of nucleobases and nuclcosides.