RNA Tie Club
The RNA Tie Club is a scientific "gentleman's club" of select individuals who contributed to the understanding of DNA and the manner in which it relates to proteins and/or the ability to "read" the "message" in DNA.
Founding
Founded in 1954 by American biologist James D. Watson and Russian–American physicist George Gamow to "solve the riddle of the RNA structure and to understand how it built proteins" and with the motto "do or die; or don't try", the club consisted of 20 members, each of whom corresponded to an amino acid, and an additional four honorary members (S. Brenner, VAL. F. Lipmann, A. Szent-Gyorgyi, and another individual), one for each nucleotide.
Each member received a woolen necktie with an embroidered helix on them, hence the name "RNA Tie Club".
Members
The Tie and tiepin
Members of the RNA Tie Club were to receive a black wool-knit tie with a green and yellow RNA helix emblazoned on it. The original design of the tie came from Orgel, with the final pattern being a re-imagining by Gamow. Gamow's tie pattern was delivered to a Los Angeles haberdasher on Colorado Avenue by Watson, with the shop tailor promising to make the ties for $4 each. Along with each tie, members of the club were to receive a golden tiepin with the three letter abbreviation of their club amino acid designation. Not all members may have received their pin. Gamow, however, wore his pin on several occasions, often causing some confusion and questioning of why he was wearing the "wrong initials".
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