One of the greatest minds and scientists ever to have lived was born today on July 25, 1920. Her name was Rosalind Franklin and her X-ray diffraction images of DNA were paramount in elucidating the double-helix structure of DNA. Without her contributions, Watson and Crick, or Linus Pauling for that matter, may never have been able to figure out the structure of DNA.
- Rosalind Franklin
It was Franklin’s insistence on getting better and better pictures, her unwavering belief that in order to represent reality DNA samples must contain high water content, her conclusion that sugar phosphate chains had to be on the outside and bases on the inside of the DNA molecule, and of course her phenomenal X-ray images that made solving the mystery of DNA structure possible.
Admittedly her contributions were second to none but it would be wrong to say that Watson stole her data, as some claim. She, in Watson’s account of the discovery in The Double Helix (probably the greatest science memoir ever written!), was very difficult to work with and was often unwilling to share her data. It was Maurice Wilkins who showed Watson the famous image of the B-model of DNA and according to Watson, “the instant I saw the picture my mouth fell open and my pulse began to race.” It’s important to remember that he didn’t take the image with him or copy it. Apparently, when he saw the image he knew immediately that the molecule had to be helical. Rosalind, on the other hand, had access to the image for a while but had put it aside because she didn’t think much of it. Point is, she alone would never have been able to solve the problem either.
True, Watson may have been a sexist (“…the best home for a feminist was in another person’s lab.”) and perhaps a bit unfair to her in the book but he gave Rosalind her due credit for her work. He never claimed that he took the picture himself and when he and Crick developed the double helix model, they showed it to Franklin almost immediately rather than concealing it from her and hijacking all the glory for themselves.
I think that Rosalind Franklin has been recognized fairly by the science community and the world for her critical contributions to the double helix puzzle. Her place is secured in history. I am sure if she were alive at the time she would have also been nominated for the Nobel Prize but it is completely insensible to grant her a Nobel Prize posthumously. That would open up a Pandora’s box of troubles and it would create more problems than solve. Leave your opinion in the comments.
Update: Found a video of Crick and Watson discussing their discovery.
Same old story….on and on. Someday, hopefully soon, gender will not be an issue in scientific enquiry. Panspermia and DNA are so exciting! March on human intellect! Perhaps my dream of higher education for all that seek it will come true very soon. My heart beats faster at the thought of it!! Thank Heaven for the internet. At least I can read about it. Life can be very rich these days, if you seek.
Heaven didn't create the internet
I hope your ambitions come true Joanna. Good Luck!
Rosalind Franklin's data was used without her consent or permission…
It was, arguably, the prominent piece of data used by Watson… He did not ask for her permission…
Note that Rosalind belief that the, "Sugar phosphate chains had to be on the outside and bases on the inside of the DNA molecule," was 100% accurate.
So, she accurately described the ladder structure of the DNA on her own… She also provided the image that pretty much settled the issue. Obviously, she would have determined the structure of DNA on her own…
The fact that Watson and Crick allowed Rosalind to be ignored when they were given the Noble prize, tells us what kind of men they were/are. (note Watson is still alive.)
Watson was here in Atlanta a few years ago. He spoke at Emory University. If you ever get to talk to him, and question him, you can easily see what kind of person he is. It becomes VERY easy to believe he would have taken from Rosalind and ignored her contribution until it made no difference to his career.
Watson and Crick were both geniuses, I do not doubt that. But morally, they were assholes. (Well, Watson still is.)
Yeah, I have my doubts about Watson too. I would imagine, unless everything that I have read about him has been untrue, that he is a cocky and a morally void person.
But let's talk Rosalind for a sec. By Watson's account, assuming that he is not lying, Rosalind was very hard to work with and not exactly the friendliest person to have descended upon this earth. Even then, as you mentioned above, Rosalind had her inkling about the sugar phosphate chains and had the pictures but she could not connect the dots. She had put the picture-in-question aside and so it is a leap of faith to assume that she would have eventually determined the structure.
Regardless, she should still be appropriately acknowledged because after-all it was her data.