The Discovery: The Story Of Rosalind Franklin

The discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, has been the foundation for much scientific work. This fundamental discovery was credited to James Watson and Francis Crick. Many people believe that another person, Rosalind Franklin, also played a large role in the research. How much did she contribute to the discovery? Why is her name left unrecognized? This paper will discuss her part in the search and whether her name should appear next to Watson's and Crick's as the co-discoverer of DNA.

I believe that Rosalind Franklin deserved more credit than she got foe her X-ray crystallography. Watson took photo 51 from her file without ther knowledge which showed that DNA has a definite pattern and two strands. Watson and Crick used the photo for their own personal gain instead of giving Rosalind any credit they saw Rosalind as below them so they had no issue stealing her idea.

1. What role did Rosalyn Franklin play in our understanding of DNA’s structure? She discovered the double-helix position of the DNA.

Over the course of the modern age, the human body was still a mystery waiting to be solved. The body contains secrets one can only hope to discover. Over the twentieth century, scientists tried to understand one of the most complex concepts in the biological field. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) was at the forefront of research. Several theories claimed to have solved the structural concept of DNA. However, it was not until Francis Crick and James D. Watson discovered the true structure, the double helix. However, many potential models of DNA had passed through the biology field until eventual lose of credibility. The past models would contain a fixed detail that would make the entire concept invalid. In James D. Watson book, The Double Helix, he illustrates his path amid incorrect theories until he reaches the model that is taught around the world today.

The pictures were shown to James Watson and Francis Crick by Maurice Wilkins. They were then able to confirm their theory about the 3D structure of DNA. In 1962, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for solving the structure of DNA. The Nobel committee could not award it to Franklin because the Nobel prize could only be shared by three people and also because she was already dead (DNA from the Beginning, 2011)

Watson and Crick discovered that cell’s nucleuses contained a molecule that was called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. The clues from the diary are: “Even us lab boys knew that there had been gossip going around the labs that Crick and Watson had been trying to solve the structure of this new-fangled molecule called DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid – but discovering the secret of life itself?”

The fact that many people probably have not heard of Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Lise Meitner, Esther Lederberg, Chien-Shiung Wu or Rosalind Franklin, is not surprising. These women, among many other female scientists, have been robbed of their recognition due to sexism. Female scientists have a reputation of being ignored, in a sense that they did not receive enough, if not any, credit for their ideas and work. If you ask people who were responsible for the discovery of DNA, most people would answer Watson and Crick. However, there were some scientists that made key contributions, and are not properly acknowledged. Rosalind Franklin is seen as one of the most discredited researchers of all times. She had played an important role in the development of the model of the DNA molecule, but the other male scientists took all the credit, and, received the Nobel Prize for ‘their’ discovery.

The discovery of the structure of DNA was one of the most important scientific achievements in the last century, in human history, in fact. The now-famous double helix is almost synonymous with Watson and Crick, two of the scientist who won the Nobel Prize for figuring it out. But there is another name you may know too, Rosalind Franklin. You may have heard that her data supported Watson and Crick’s brilliant idea, or that she was a belligerent scientist, which is how Watson described her in his book The Double Helix. But thanks to Franklin’s biographer, who investigated her life and interviewed people close to her, we now know that that account is far from true, and her scientific contribution have been vastly underplayed. Let’s hear the real story of Rosalind Elsie Franklin, the woman who influenced the modern medicine and world by contributing the most in discovering the structure of DNA, coal and viruses.

In considering whether or not Rosalind Franklin should have been acknowledged, along with Watson, Crick, and Wilkins, for the discovery of the double helix and awarded a Nobel Prize, one must look what qualifies someone to win a Nobel Prize. In order for someone to be awarded the Nobel Prize they must first meet the qualifications. The qualifications are endless, but somewhat simple. In this case the Nobel Prize is for science. This prize is chosen by a group of people, and they seek to choose people whom create different views of topics in the field they are studying. The main candidate is consistently searching to find new ideas of the concerning topic, that could enhance the knowledge that people already have on a problem or solution in the world. The Nobel Committee sends persons who are believed to hold the qualifications of a Nobel Prize a form of proposal. The candidates are not chosen at random, but are recommended by others who have excelled in their field of work. The other nominations are not made public, but concealed for a period of 50 years (NobelPrize.org).

(1): Rosalind Franklin feels isolated early on when she arrived at Kings and began to set up her equipment. Maurice Wilkins decides to check on Rosalind, “Well, we like to keep in touch. [pause, Franklin looks away]. Just as you wish. Keep me posted [Franklin tilts her head suddenly, displeased].”(Scene 3). Rosalind is displeased after Wilkins wants to know when she makes progress with her work. This could mean that Rosalind is afraid that King's College is using her just to gather more information about DNA. Another scene where Rosalind feels unequal when compared to others in the film is when her research assistant Raymond Gosling shows Rosalind’s work to Maurice Wilkins. “I wonder why we bother to do experiments. [Clearly upset.]”(Scene

Rosalind Franklin was born on July 25th, 1920 in London, England. She was born into a well upper-class family. Her father was Ellis A. Franklin was an Investment Banker while her mom, Muriel F. Waley was a daughter of a banker. Rosalind’s father additionally helped less privileged people by teaching less privileged citizens about electricity and magnetism whereas her mother also did some charitable work. Furthermore, Muriel and Ellis had five children in total, Rosalind was the second born. They sent their children to privately educated schools where Rosalind’s intelligence was noticed. Both parents encouraged their children to all have their own opinions/thoughts and to debate and discuss them. Rosalind did exactly that and continued doing

While at King's, Rosalind discovered much about DNA. Working with her graduate student, Raymond Gosling, she took the X-ray photographs that would eventually lead to the helix theory of DNA. But she also made other key discoveries. First, she determined that DNA was found in two distinct forms, the "wet" and "dry" forms. Gosling had photographed the dry

to her career in the future since it was the technique used to get a

Although DNA was initially observed by Frederich Miescher, a German biochemist near the end of the nineteenth century, the key to the structure of DNA was not discovered until almost a hundred years later. It was at that time that science realized the importance of DNA to the study of biology.

Rosalind Franklin’s work on DNA was crucial in discovering the composition of the human body as a whole. Her x-ray photo revealed a double helix structure and she also discovered the A and B form of DNA. She worked through the adversity of being a female in a predominately male dominated realm and made remarkable findings that were eventually stolen. She adapted to a new lab with antiquated technology. Before this discovery, the structure of DNA was thought to be simple. Scientist, Watson and Crick, started with the wrong structure of DNA from a misinterpretation of notes from one of Franklin’s presentations. Unlike Watson and Crick, Rosalind Franklin could explain DNA and how it worked.