Rosalind Franklin: the Unsung Hero of Modern Biochemistry

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): the molecule that carries “genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth, and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses” [1]. The extent to which we now understand this complex molecule is thanks to Dr. Rosalind Franklin, the unsung hero of modern biochemistry.

Born in 1920, in London, England, Franklin was a British scientist who discovered the molecular structure of DNA. From a young age, she hoped to become a scientist, however, her father discouraged this as it was difficult for women to have such a career at the time. She later went to St. Paul’s Girls School, and after graduating, she received a fellowship to research physical chemistry at Cambridge. However, World War II changed her course of action as she instead worked for the British Coal Utilization Research Association (BCURA) [1].

Portrait of Rosalind Franklin by Esra Almaeeni,
Youth STEM Matters Artist

After her time at the BCURA, Franklin joined the Biophysical Laboratory in London as a research fellow [2]. Her job was to apply X-ray diffraction methods to the study of DNA. At the same time, biologist Maurice Wilkins was already using X-ray crystallography to try to solve the mystery around the structure of DNA at King's College. However, Franklin arrived while Wilkins was away, and upon his return, he assumed that she was his assistant. This was a bad start to a relationship that never got any better. Their relationship reached such a negative point that biographer Brenda Maddox referred to this misunderstanding as “one of the great personal quarrels in the history of science” [3]. 

As their time together went onwards, Wilkins went to "the Cavendish" laboratory in Cambridge where his friend Francis Crick was working with James Watson on building a model of the DNA molecule [4]. Unknown to Franklin, Watson and Crick saw some of her unpublished data, including "photo 51", shown to Watson by Wilkins. This photo was Watson's inspiration to create their (Watson, Wilkins & Crick’s) famous DNA model, for which they were recognized by receiving a Nobel Prize [5]. Nonetheless, Franklin was very close to finalizing the model of DNA as she had prepared 3 manuscripts regarding her findings. Her work to make clearer X-ray patterns of DNA molecules laid the foundation for other scientists to propose the structure of DNA.

Unfortunately, Franklin's contribution was not acknowledged during her lifetime as she passed away at the young age of 37. However, after her death, Crick said that her contribution had been critical [5]. Whether it is her being recognized by renowned scientists, buildings being named after her, or the ExoMars programme - led by the European Space Agency and Russian Roscosmos State Corporation - rover sharing her name, Franklin is now receiving the recognition she deserves [6]! The misfortune of Rosalind Franklin’s life is not that she was robbed of a Nobel Prize. Rather, it is the discoveries she was not acknowledged for. Franklin is truly an inspiration for many scientists in the STEM field because, without her work, DNA would not be understood to the extent it is today.

References

[1] Josiah Macy Rosalind Franklin (2020, July 12) DNA  [Online]. Available: http://www.dnaftb.org/19/bio-3.html

[2] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020, Apr 12 ). Rosalind Franklin Encyclopædia Britannica [Online]. Available: www.britannica.com/biography/Rosalind-Franklin.

[3] Concept 19 The DNA Molecule Is Shaped like a Twisted Ladder Rosalind Franklin DNA   from the Beginning [Online]. Available: www.dnaftb.org/19/bio-3.html

[4] Rosalind Franklin” (2020, Jun. 15) Biography.com A&E Networks Television [Online]. Available: www.biography.com/scientist/rosalind-franklin.

[5] Nature Publishing Group Nature News [Online]. Available: www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/rosalind-franklin-a-crucial-contribution-6538012/.

[6] Wikipedia (2020, July 13) Wikimedia Foundation [Online]. Available: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin.

[7] Conlon, Anne Marie. Rosalind Franklin New Scientist [Online]. Available: www.newscientist.com/people/rosalind-franklin/.