Mitochondrial matrix
The cytosolic, intermembrane space, compartment has a water content of 3.8 μl/mg protein, while the mitochondrial matrix 0.8 μl/mg protein. It is not known how mitochondria maintain osmotic balance across the inner mitochondrial membrane, although the membrane contains aquaporins that are believed to be conduits for regulated water transport. Mitochondrial matrix has a pH of about 7.8. Mitochondrial DNA was discovered by Nash and Margit in 1963. One to many double stranded mainly circular DNA is present in mitochondrial matrix. Mitochondrial DNA is 1% of total DNA of a cell. It is rich in Guanine and Cytosine content. Mitochondria of mammals have 55s ribosomes.
Rosalind Franklin and DNA
The discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 is regarded as "the greatest and most important scientific discovery of the 20th Century". Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for the discovery. This discovery laid the foundation for modern biology, including medical and molecular researches. The discoverers earned a lasting worldwide fame. But the contribution made by Rosalind Franklin, who died in 1958, was largely forgotten. The main motive for Sayre's book came from James Watson's memoir "The Double Helix : A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA". Published in 1968, "The Double Helix" reflected the account of the discovery in which Franklin was portrayed as "uninteresting", "belligerent", and "sharp, stubborn mind", referring her as "Rosy", the name she did not want to be called. Watson described her as having "all the imagination of English blue-stocking adolescents", and "the product of an unsatisfied mother".