|
January 2, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR MARTY CHINTALA
IN RI
Kelly, I'm glad you asked the question. As far as I'm concerned,
the
most important role was the person who got the least credit
for it-- her
name is Rosalind Franklin. She worked at Cambridge University
and was
the first one to actually recognize the double helix shape
of DNA via
high resolution photographs of single strands of DNA. Much
of the work
of Watson and Crick was based on her discovery. She has never
really
gotten the recognition that she deserves for the work (she
wasn't well
treated at the time). Unfortunately she died in 1957 at the
young age
of 37 from cancer. She didn't receive any recognition for
the Nobel
prize because the award is not given posthumously (after someone
dies),
and she died before the award was given to Watson, Crick and
Wilkins.
When those men received their award, they gave no credit to
Franklin for
her efforts. An excellent book about her that you can get
from the
library is: "Rosalind Franklin and DNA" by Anne
Sayre, 1978, W. W.
Norton. For more information on other women who played important
roles
in scientific discoveries, check out the following website:
http://www.astr.ua.edu/4000ws/4000WS.html
(it's a good one!).
********************
A: FROM MENTOR MOLLY WILLIAMS
IN MI
The most widely recognized people were Watson and Crick who
received
a Nobel Prize for their understanding of the double helix
configuration of DNA. However, any major scientific discovery
happens only because of the background laid by predecessors.
It was
Isaac Newton who said, "If I have seen further ... it
is by standing
on the shoulders of giants." In the case of the DNA work,
one
person, Rosalind Franklin, also appears to have played a significant
role. She did the x-ray diffraction work that allowed the
structure
of DNA to be deduced. Unfortunately, she died of ovarian cancer
before the discovery was widely publicized. Not long after
Watson
and Crick were recognized for their work, there were accusations
that they had appropriated Franklin's work and not adequately
acknowledged her contribution. Remember that this was in an
era
(1950's) when women were not recognized as credible scientists.
Now
there is a new book just released, Rosalind Franklin: The
Dark Lady
of DNA, by Brenda Maddox, published by Harper Collins. This
may
shed a bit more light on the history of this important discovery
that forms the basis for much modern molecular biology.
********************
A: FROM MENTOR SUZANNE FRANKS
IN KS
Kelly, for me it is hard to say that just one scientist played
the most
important role, because there were many many people who worked
on
this issue. Like nearly all of science, any individual discovery
depends
upon the work of many, many others. However, one scientist
whose
role has been ignored for many years is Rosalind Franklin.
There is a
book called "Rosalind Franklin and DNA" by Anne
Sayre, that tells the
story of Rosalind's work. It shows how James Watson twisted
and bent
the truth in his book about DNA, "The Double Helix."
There is also a newer
biography of Rosalind Franklin out. I have not read it, but
from some of
the
reviews I have read of it, I do not think too highly of it.
You might also be interested in reading about Barbara McClintock,
a real
pioneer in genetic studies and in understanding how DNA works.
"A Feeling for the Organism" by Evelyn Fox Keller
is a good biography
of McClintock.
|
