Assignment #7- Rosalind Franklin

Scientist and X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin has assisted the world in understanding how DNA plays an extremely significant role in genetics.  However, Franklin did not gain the recognition she deserved in her contributions to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. In 1953 she used her expertise in X-ray diffraction to discover images of DNA.  This brought her to the finding of the double helix structure which would play a vital role in the determination of one's hereditary genes and how information is passed from a parent to their child.  This is very important for us today and always will be because we have a better understanding of why we have certain physical features,  where we acquire our personality traits, medical history, etc. Unfortunately, Rosalind Franklin's discovery went un-recognized and served as the basis for Watson and Crick's hypothesis.  Because Rosalind Franklin was a female scientist in the 1950's, she struggled to be taken seriously in her work due to her gender.  Even after her death, she still went unnoticed in contributing to the discovery of the double helix in DNA.  In 1962, Watson and Crick, both men, received the Nobel Prize "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".  We get the idea that during Rosalind Franklin's career, she was an angry, bitter woman.  She must have been well aware that she would never get the credit she deserved as a scientist and would never be viewed as an intelligent scientist, capable of the same work a man could produce.  Thus, this hardened her personality in the field.  Evidence of Franklin's demeanor and the conflicts she had with male scientists are shown in the graphic novel of our class coursepack.  It is very unfortunate that Rosalind Franklin was not acknowledged of her crucial work in the double helix structure in 1953.  Nor was she awarded the Nobel Prize along with her associates Watson and Crick.  Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant woman and deserved  appreciation for her work.  Some may disagree as to why she was downplayed, but it's a shame that she was discriminated.