James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project, along with En

Question

James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project, along with Englishman Francis Crick discovered the double helix in 1953, the basic structure of DNA, when the two were young scientists.

A. James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project, along with Englishman Francis Crick discovered the double helix in 1953, the basic structure of DNA, when the two were young scientists.

B. The double helix, the basic structure of DNA, was discovered in 1953 by two young scientists, the Englishman Francis Crick and James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project.

C. The basic structure of DNA, the double helix, was discovered in 1953 by the Englishman Francis Crick and James Watson, later head of the Human Genome Project, two young scientists.

D. The Englishman Francis Crick and James Watson, later heading the Human Genome Project, were the young scientists who discovered the basic structure of DNA in 1953, which was the double helix.

E. The basic structure of DNA, the double helix, was discovered by James Watson, later head of the Human Genome Project, along with another of two young scientists, the Englishman Francis Crick, in 1953.

Source:   McGraw-Hill's GMAT  
Difficulty Level:   600

Archit3110 · Answer

IMO B ;

The double helix, the basic structure of DNA, was discovered in 1953 by two young scientists, the Englishman Francis Crick and James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project.
correct usage of modifier and sentence correction in option B

Pankaj1Agarwal · Answer

I think its A
From B we cannot make out "who later headed the Human Genome Project" is referring to one of them or both.

Only A clearly makes that distinction.

Expert comments are welcomed
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dereksantamonica · Answer

"the basic structure of DNA" seems to modify 1953 and would therefore be incorrect. I too am going with B.

ridhiagarwal · Answer

i am confused between A and B. 
in A "the basic structure of DNA" seems to modify the year
and in B it seems that both the scientists headed the project
can someone please clear the doubt ?

himanshu1105 · Answer

The double helix, the basic structure of DNA, was discovered in 1953 by two young scientists, the Englishman Francis Crick and James Watson,

Don't you think 'who'is ambiguous? Is who referring to James or James and Englishman both?

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AjiteshArun · Answer

We should not (generally) be too uncomfortable with ambiguity. If you've already taken the other options out for "bigger" errors, don't hesitate to mark the remaining option.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

A  implies that 1953 may have been the basic structure of DNA. In  C , the phrase  “two young scientists”  dangles at the end of the sentence with no clear referent. In  D , the  “which”  has no clear referent, and it could be interpreted to read that the double helix was the structure of DNA only in 1953. The information is presented less logically in  E  than in  B , because it makes the most sense to mention that there were two scientists prior to naming either of them, and because it would be clearer if the date of discovery and the verb  “discovered”  were paired more closely in the sentence.  B  presents the clearest statement of the facts.

ANSWER: B

Hope it helps

James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project, along with En

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James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project, along with En

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