When knot theory was first developed, its major appeal was in
its possible applications to chemistry. Lord Kelvin and
chemistry motivated the early development of knot theory in the
1880's. Kelvin hypothesized that a substance called ether was
what the entire universe was made of and matter could be
explained as knots in the ether; however, we now know that this
is not true. This early interest gave knot theory the impetus
that it needed in order to become a major field of mathematical
study.  The first place for knot theory to find a home was in
the biologist's toolkit with applications to DNA. In 1953 James
Watson and Francis Crick discovered that the basic genetic
material of life on earth took the shape of DNA
ManipulationsDNA's double helix from there the possibilities of
the marriage of knot theory and Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) were
endless. What was also found was that DNA often becomes knotted,
making it difficult for DNA to carry out its function. There are
enzymes called topoisomerases that can pe