The document discusses the history and structure of DNA. It describes how Miescher first isolated DNA in 1869. Griffith and Avery's experiments in the early 20th century showed that DNA was the genetic material that could be transformed between bacteria. The structure of DNA was elucidated by Chargaff, Franklin, Watson and Crick in the 1950s. They discovered that DNA is a double helix with two antiparallel strands held together by hydrogen bonds between complementary nucleotide bases, with cytosine bonding with guanine and adenine bonding with thymine. DNA stores genetic information and can self-replicate to transmit this information from parent to daughter cells.