In 1869, a Swiss physician-cum-biochemist while checking pus-filled surgical bandages made this remarkable discovery accidently: How Friedrich Miescher’s DNA discovery changed science

In 1869, a Swiss physician-cum-biochemist while checking pus-filled surgical bandages made this remarkable discovery accidently when Friedrich Miescher isolated a substance from white blood cells that later became known as DNA. His work began while studying pus from surgical bandages in Germany. Although scientists did not immediately understand its role, the discovery of nuclein laid the foundation for modern genetics, molecular biology, heredity research, and DNA science.