Rosalind Franklin: The Woman Behind the Blueprint of Life
by Maegan Noche
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a staple in various fields of science revolving around biology and chemistry. It is the molecule that contains genetic information for the functioning of an organism. Made of two linked strands that are often described to form a twisted ladder or a spiral, DNA is shaped as a double helix. The structure of DNA as a double helix is mostly credited to James Watson and Francis Crick. However, a female scientist is actually behind the established DNA structure. This female scientist is Rosalind Franklin.
Who is Rosalind Franklin?
Rosalind Franklin was a chemist whose expertise in X-ray diffraction provided invaluable insights into her research of the molecular structure of DNA. Born in London on July 5, 1920, she belonged to a prominent Anglo-Jewish family as the second of five children. Her parents Ellis and Muriel Franklin were active members of the community who often participated in charities and community services. Rosalind studied at St. Paul’s School for Girls, which prioritized setting their students up for careers rather than just marriage. Early on, she displayed great skill in math,science, and languages such as French, Italian, and German.
Franklin’s scientific journey
She later went to Newnham College, one of the two women’s colleges at Cambridge University, in 1938 to study physical chemistry. After graduating in 1941, she was granted a scholarship and a research grant from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. She worked with Ronald Norrish, a notable figure in photochemistry, for a year; With the continuation of World War II, she ended her research with Norrish to contribute to the war effort. Franklin then served the British Coal Utilization Research Association (BCURA) to investigate the properties of coal and graphite, which were essential for the war. This work helped her construct her doctoral thesis in Cambridge and eventually earn a Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1945. After the war ended, her friend Adrienne Weill helped her earn a spot in Jacques Mering’s lab at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimique de l’Etat in Paris where she first encountered X-ray crystallography. In this lab, she was able to analyze the structures of graphitizing and non-graphitizing carbons. Through her proficiency in X-ray crystallography, scientists developed carbon fibers and new heat-resistant materials. Franklin’s excellence in the technique of X-ray crystallography allowed her to make a name for herself in the field. Although she was strongly passionate about her work in France, she started looking for a position in England in 1950. This prompted her remarkable breakthrough in the field of biochemistry- the discovery of the DNA structure.
Leading up to the discovery of the DNA structure
A year later in 1951, she earned a spot in John T. Randall’s Biophysics Unit at King’s College London through a three-year Turner and Newall Fellowship. While Randall initially intended for Franklin to build up a crystallography section and work on analyzing proteins, he gave her a different mission with the suggestion of his assistant lab chief Maurice Wilkins. Her task was to investigate DNA instead. At that time, Wilkins was already doing some X-ray diffraction research using clean DNA samples which he and Franklin were expected to collaborate on. However, due to a lack of communication on Randall’s part, Wilkins thought that only graduate students, Raymond Gosling and Franklin would work on DNA. Wilkins and Franklin eventually stopped talking to one another due to this misunderstanding. Luckily, Franklin was able to use a clean DNA sample Wilkins obtained that would provide the most precision and accuracy. She began taking increasingly clear X-ray diffraction photos of DNA while collaborating with Gosling and made a groundbreaking discovery that would be the basis for DNA’s structure.
In September 1951, Franklin found a second type of DNA that changes its structure under high levels of moisture. The high moisture or wet form of DNA she and Gosling discovered was called “B DNA” while the drier form became “A DNA”. B DNA has been established as DNA’s usual arrangement within living cells. Unfortunately, the X-ray diffraction photos she took were blurred as the DNA contained both A and B types. A month later, two more main players in the discovery of DNA structure were introduced. When Franklin presented her findings of B DNA at a colloquium, a young American researcher working at Cambridge University, James Watson listened to her presentation. He used this information shared by Franklin at the colloquium to build a 3D scale model of DNA with a fellow DNA enthusiast, Francis Crick. Their model was inaccurate because he failed to take notes during Franklin’s presentation and remembered the wrong details. Crick and Watson invited Franklin, Wilkins, and Gosling to see their triple helix model. At this time, Franklin informed the two Cambridge researchers that her findings did not certify a helical structure. By the next year, Franklin would be able to certify DNA’s helical structure through Photo 51.
Photo 51
In 1952, Franklin captured one of the most historically significant images, Photo 51, which confirmed the double helix structure of DNA. Photo 51 is a fuzzy X-ray depicting a strand of DNA extracted from a human calf tissue (Whipps, 2020). King’s College archivist Geoff Browell remarks, “It was this image that gave the final clue that enabled Maurice Wilkins, James Watson, and Francis Crick to put together research from the previous two decades and understand that DNA was a double helix.” This photo was the proof that researchers had been looking for to verify their findings. Franklin shared this image with Wilkins although she never consented to share this image with other scientists which Wilkins clearly disregarded.
Without any consent, Wilkins sent this photograph to Crick and Watson who were researching at Cavendish Laboratory in London. They used this photo and a summary of her unpublished research submitted to the Medical Research Council to discover the vast amount of knowledge on DNA we have today. Afterward, they published a new model of DNA and a paper on this model without even mentioning Franklin’s contributions.
New chapter
Franklin began working at Birkbeck College, where she focused on the structure of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in 1953. Here, she revealed that TMV’s genetic material was embedded in the inner wall of its protective protein shell. She was also able to work alongside a multitude of other virus researchers. One of these researchers was 1982 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Aaron Klug. Her accomplishments in this research were honored by the Royal Institution in 1956.
In the same year, Franklin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The next months she spent receiving surgery and other treatments did not stop her from working in her lab and seeking funding for her research team. She passed away with a powerful legacy in London on April 16, 1958, at the young age of 37.
Franklin’s legacy
In addition to her revolutionary discovery of the DNA structure, Franklin published 45 articles on coals and carbons, DNA, and viruses. She also displayed the molecule ribonucleic acid (RNA)’s shape as a single strand instead of a DNA’s double helix. Her work at Birkbeck College also sparked research on the polio virus that Klug completed. She was a female scientist who managed to achieve amazing accomplishments in a world that made it particularly difficult to succeed. As many still primarily spotlight Crick and Watson as the discoverers of DNA structure, it is time to spotlight Rosalind Franklin, the woman behind the blueprint of life.
Bibliography:
- Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins. (2022, July 28). Science History Institute. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/james-watson-francis-crick-maurice-wilkins-and-rosalind-franklin
- Lawler, M. (2018, April 24). Rosalind Franklin still doesn’t get the recognition she deserves for her DNA discovery. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/rosalind-franklin-still-doesnt-get-the-recognition-she-deserves-for-her-dna-discovery-95536
- Rosalind Franklin. (2019, June 28). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rosalind-Franklin
- Rosalind Franklin. (2016, August 12). Famous Scientists. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.famousscientists.org/rosalind-franklin/
- Rosalind Franklin. (n.d.) National Library of Medicine. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/kr/feature/biographical
- Pederson, T. (2020). The double helix: “Photo 51” revisited. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal, 34(2), 1923–1927. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202000119
- Walsh, F. (2012, May 16). The most important photo ever taken?. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-18041884
- Whipps, H. (2020, February 24). How ‘Photo 51’ Changed the World. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/2912-photo-51-changed-world.html
