Francis Crick and the Exploration of the Brain

Francis Crick and the Exploration of the Brain

In 1953, Dr. Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of the DNA molecule. This is the molecule which we now know stores the genetic information for all life. Many scientists have claimed the discovery to be the single most important development in biology during the 20th century. Watson and Crick's investigation into the nature of the genetic code and the passing of information from generation to generation has redefined the study of genetics. Also, it has basically created the science of molecular biology. For their outstanding work, James Watson and Dr. Francis Crick were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize.

As a youth, Francis Crick attended Northhampton Grammar School . At the age of fourteen he entered Mill Hill School in North London. While there he gained a good education in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Crick was later an undergraduate study at University College of London where he received a degree in physics in 1937. Crick continued on at University College doing graduate work in physics until his research was interrupted by World War II. After the war, Crick found himself less interested in the field of physics. He found an interest in Erwin Schrodinger's book What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Crick was convinced that many of the fundamental problems of biology could be examined by using the precise concepts and methods of physics and chemistry. The main theory Crick wanted to challenge was that of "vitalism". Vitalism was the idea that life processes were due to a vital principle which was not explained by the laws of science. In the middle of the century many scientists still believed that the family of macromo...

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...e brain. As part of Crick's work he investigated the complex topic of human dreams. This interested Crick because he wanted to know more about neural nets. He discovered that you cannot understand how the brain works by just figuring out how one neuron works. You must understand how groups of neurons interact and work together. When you store too many memories they tend to get in eachother's way. Crick realized that in sleep and REM maybe the brain was trying to separate memories which got confused because they were "too alive". Because the kind of mixtures you get in neural nets are the sort of things you have in dreams, Crick believed this to be evidence of that.

The study of the brain has come a long way, but there is still a lot to be learned. Today, Francis Crick is greatly respected for the valuable work he has done in the exploration of the brain.