What if the structure of DNA had not been discovered, or had been discovered 100 years earlier? Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) stores the information that tells cells how to develop and what their function is. Without this, life as we know it is not possible. It was in 1951 that James Watson and Francis Crick started their work on figuring out the structure of DNA. Since then development has increased dramatically to the point where animals and plants can be genetically engineered by altering their DNA.
What if the structure of DNA had been found 100 years earlier?
The DNA structure is found in 1851, and within two decades scientists can make simple alterations to the DNA code. However, technology has not developed to the point where alterations can be made accurately and hence changes are very much trial and error. Ethics and morals were very different from the modern day and so testing on animals, including humans, would not have been given a second thought. This testing then results in mutations, deformities that would most likely have crippled or killed the person. It is unlikely that we would have ended up with a super mutant race!
What if the structure of DNA had been not been found, even today?
Crime and murder rates are unchanged, however, because DNA cannot be used as evidence, convictions are lower and many of the convictions that are made are t an innocent party. Screening for genetic markers is no longer possible hence detecting some illnesses may be more difficult (note other methods used to detect a lot of these things).
