Most important discovery - DNA or X-Rays?

[Simpo Two]

For some reason this question floated into my head earlier... what do you think and why?

[eharding]

I thought the original DNA discovery was done using X-ray diffraction? Hence, even if our understanding of DNA is of greater benefit to mankind, without our knowledge of X-rays, we wouldn't have had that understanding. Hence X-rays get the...er...X.

By coincidence I was clearing out the eaves today and found my old undergraduate Applied Physics practical notes, with some film strips from the X-ray crystallography sessions, taken some 40 years ago....

[Simpo Two]

The double helix part was worked out by the X-rays, incidentally making an X-shape which somehow they knew indicated a helix. So yes, one discovery led to another

But thinking of mankind as a whole, which has been more advantageous?

[abzmike]

In terms of mending people that have broken things, or have issues to be looked at X-rays have been more important up until now - from now on DNA will be important for preventing and curing disease. But if you think you’ve broken your leg, DNA isn’t going to help.

[Simpo Two]

abzmike said:

In terms of mending people that have broken things, or have issues to be looked at X-rays have been more important up until now - from now on DNA will be important for preventing and curing disease. But if you think you’ve broken your leg, DNA isn’t going to help.

Perhaps we could say 'both' then: X-rays for tactics and DNA for strategy.

[maffski]

abzmike said:

...But if you think you’ve broken your leg, DNA isn’t going to help....

I disagree with your point of view, without DNA it doesn't have a leg to stand on.

[CraigyMc]

Simpo Two said:

For some reason this question floated into my head earlier... what do you think and why?

I think "this is probably why simpo has 87000 posts".

[Austin Prefect]

abzmike said:

In terms of mending people that have broken things, or have issues to be looked at X-rays have been more important up until now - from now on DNA will be important for preventing and curing disease. But if you think you’ve broken your leg, DNA isn’t going to help.

By that reckoning plaster and crutches are more important than X rays.

[Yahonza]

X-Rays - because of their fundamental application in medical imaging, the science of materials, crystallography, astronomy, and various other things.
DNA may become the more important discovery in the long term but the 'discovery' of this genetic material was a long and complex one. We still don't understand fully how DNA orchestrates what goes on in an organism - there are also many other players in the world of molecular biology.

Several of the people that discovered X-rays also suffered for their art, in that many died from over-exposure to this ionising radiation which damaged their DNA in the process.