This data gave them the insight they needed to determine the true double helix structure of DNA, and they soon published a paper in Nature announcing their discovery. This image, along with other data from Franklin’s research, made its way to Watson and Crick, who were also studying DNA at the same time. In May 1952, Franklin took the picture that would become famous – Photograph 51 – capturing the X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA. By all accounts, Franklin and her new colleague Maurice Wilkins didn’t get along, though the two did still make progress. It was this specialism that led her to work with a team at King’s College in London that was studying DNA. After the war, she found a job in Paris where she became proficient in analysing carbons using X-ray crystallography. She showed an early passion for science, and after graduating, she worked as a research chemist in the British Coal Utilisation Research Association, with significant work on the structure of coals earning her a PhD from Cambridge in 1945. So how did Franklin get so close to scientific glory, only to be written out of history?įranklin was born in London in 1920 and was educated in private schools and at Cambridge University. But the previous year, Crick himself admitted in a letter that “the data which really helped us to obtain the structure was mainly obtained by Rosalind Franklin.” The two shared the Nobel prize for their discovery in 1962, along with Franklin’s former colleague Maurice Wilkins. Rosalind Franklin is known for making a significant contribution to the discovery of the DNA double helix. In recent years, her story has become famous as one of a woman whose scientific work was overlooked during her lifetime.Īccording to the history books – or even a quick google search – credit for the 1953 discovery of DNA’s structure goes to James Watson and Francis Crick.
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