I wanted to tell the story of Rosalind Franklin, one of the most ingenious, dedicated, and forgotten scientists of the 20th century. In Rosalind Franklin’s short but inspirational career she used properties of physical chemistry to study the structure of  coal, DNA, viral and plant proteins. Her expertise in the field of X-ray crystallography in which beams of X-rays are shot at a pure crystalline molecule where atoms diffract (change the path of) the rays, creating a distinct pattern which can be interpreted with additional data.

This photo was taken through a double axis 13,500 lines/inch diffraction grating, which separates the component colors of white light. This is a demonstration of the principles of ray movement and diffraction used by Rosalind Franklin- the basic formula underlying the principle is shown on the right edge. This technique allowed her to generate an incredibly high quality diffraction pattern of DNA molecules in 1952 called “51.” Rosalind was a rigorous scientist making sure to never draw conclusions from incomplete data.

 

While Rosalind Franklin’s work was recognized as exquisite by those within King’s College and funding her work, she was often assumed to be an assistant in the lab as she was one of the only women in the field. Her conclusions had to be even more iron-clad than her male counter part’s, her data even cleaner than that of her male colleagues. This is one of the many reasons that when her work was shared, without her knowledge, and two men were gaining fame from a model drawn from her data, no one in the field spoke up.

In 1953 Rosalind’s unpublished work, including 51, was shown to James Watson and Francis Crick who later used this data to support their model of the structure of DNA- the famous double helix. For decades after this publication Watson and Crick were known as the father’s of the double helix and went on to win the Nobel Prize, never once crediting Franklin. In Jame’s Watson’s personal account, The Double Helix, he belittles Franklin as a scientist too incompetent to understand her own data, going so far as to call her “Rosie.” Watson betrayed the trust the E. O. Wilson speaks so highly of in his novel Letter to a Young Scientist, seen in this photo.

Decades later, Rosalind Franklin’s contribution to unraveling the structure of DNA is spreading through the scientific community- above she is shown in my biochemistry II textbook as a pioneer of X-ray crystallography and structural analysis of biomolecules. Sadly, Franklin passed away before her contribution could be recognized by the Nobel committee and Prizes are not awarded post-humorously. It is said that when she learned of Watson and Crick’s model, she spoke only of the beauty of the science and the natural state of heredity. Her work has inspired so many young scientists, especially young women such as myself. Today, one can earn a doctorate degree from the Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago and have a stylized poster of her work on their wall.