"Stop, that's my X-ray!" The true story behind the discovery of DNA

Interesting find today while looking through the archive of Hark, a Vagrant! a web-comic drawn by Canada’s own Kate Beaton. Here’s the comic: 

Hark, A Vagrant! by Kate Beaton

The comic depicts Rosalind Franklin, James Watson and Francis Crick. Do the names ring any bells?

If they do, it’s likely Watson and Crick, and you are likely remembering a 9th grade science lesson on the men attributed with the discovery of the structure of DNA. They, along with a gentleman named Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this breakthrough in 1962. 

The question some people now ask is – did they deserve it, or should someone else’s name have been included on the list of recipients for the Nobel Prize?

The thing is, their discovery was due in large part to an X-ray belonging to Rosalind Franklin, who was also in the race to discover the structure of DNA. Watson himself attributes his original identification of the of DNA to Franklin’s X-ray. In his autobiography, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, Watson wrote: “The instant I saw the picture, my mouth fell open and my pulse began to rush. The pattern was unbelievable…” (167)

The controversy revolves around how they got the X-ray in the first place. How did Franklin’s research end up in the hands of Watson and Crick? Did they misappropriate it? Was it stolen from Franklin’s lab with the help of Maurice Wilkins, her co-researcher? (Wilkins’ name, you’ll notice, IS on the list of Nobel Prize laureates for 1962.)

Either way, it’s a tragic demonstration of how a woman’s contribution to a major event is often downplayed or completely ignored by the scientific community. And, while the actual event may not have played out exactly as the comic portrays -- it's still pushes us to think about what it would have been like for women trying to make it in a time that was not always kind, or even fair, to women.

Interestingly enough, we recently published a book titled The Bold and the Brave: A History of Women in Science and Engineering which touches on Franklin’s work, as well as on the work of other pioneers in science such as Mileva Einstein and Sophie Germain. If you are interested in learning more about the lives and contributions these women made to science, check it out!

Review - The Bold and the Brave by Monique Frize

Here’s a review done by the Literary Review of Canada on our book The Bold and the Brave: A History of Women in Science and Engineering by Monique Frize.

The Sexes and the Sciences
Why aren’t women rushing to the labs as we thought they would?
by Sheilla Jones

The article brings to light the fact that last time society checked, the number of women involved in the fields of engineering and science had been on the rise. However, the latest statistics suggest that number is now decreasing.

The review highlights the explanations provided by Frize that attempt to identify and characterize this trend. She argues that this cyclical phenomenon, where progress is followed by regress, has already occurred many times in our history. Jones explains:

“Throughout recorded history, women have made considerable gains in gender parity with men, only to have those gains abruptly terminated or to see them slowly dissipate through societal change.”

The argument regarding the cyclical nature of women’s progress in the fields of science and engineering is first put into historical context by Frize, after which she shares many observations she has made during her career that support the theory she proposes.

Sheilla Jones writes:

“The Bold and the Brave is a distillation of Frize’s personal experiences as the often lone woman in engineering classes or at conferences, and the feel¬ing that she was tilting at windmills in her effort to make engineering a friendlier place for women. And she has been at it for a long time.”

For further information on The Bold and the Brave: A History of Women in Science and Engineering check out the UOP’s website.