Who was Rosalind Franklin? What is She Best Known For? All You Need to Know

Rosalind Franklin was a British scientist born on July 25, 1920, in London, England. She came from a well-educated and supportive family. 

From a young age, she showed a strong interest in science and maths. She studied chemistry at the University of Cambridge and later became an expert in X-ray crystallography.

Franklin is best known for her work on the structure of DNA. Her famous X-ray image, known as Photo 51, helped reveal that DNA has a double-helix structure. 

This discovery became a key moment in the history of genetics. Although others received the Nobel Prize for this work, Franklin's role was vital.

She also studied the structure of viruses and coal. Her research contributed to improved fuel efficiency and deepened our understanding of molecular biology. Sadly, she died of cancer at the age of 37 in 1958. Today, she is remembered as a pioneer and a symbol of women in science.

Who was Rosalind Franklin?

Source: Britannica

Rosalind Elsie Franklin (1920-1958) was a brilliant British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was crucial to understanding the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. 

While her contributions to the structure of DNA were largely unacknowledged during her lifetime, her scientific rigour and pioneering techniques have since gained significant recognition.

Education

Rosalind Franklin was born into an affluent and influential Anglo-Jewish family in London, England, on July 25, 1920. Her family highly valued education, and she demonstrated an early aptitude for science and mathematics.

• St Paul's Girls' School: She attended St Paul's Girls' School, one of the few institutions at the time that taught physics and chemistry to girls, where she excelled academically.
• Newnham College, Cambridge University: In 1938, she enrolled at Newnham College, Cambridge, to study chemistry. She completed her bachelor's degree in physical chemistry in 1941.
• PhD from Cambridge: She continued her research and was awarded her PhD from Cambridge University in 1945 for her thesis titled "The physical chemistry of solid organic colloids with special reference to coal", which focused on the porosity of coal.

Career

Franklin's career was marked by her meticulous experimental skill and her expertise in X-ray crystallography.

• British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) (1942-1947): During World War II, Franklin joined BCURA as an assistant research officer. 
• Her work here focused on the physical structure of coal, leading to essential findings on its porosity and how it changed with heating, which had applications for gas masks and fuel performance. This work formed the basis of her PhD.
• Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l'État in Paris (1947-1950): This period in Paris was a pleasant and productive time for Franklin. Working with Jacques Mering, she became an accomplished X-ray crystallographer, learning to apply the technique to amorphous substances like coal and other carbonaceous materials.
• King's College London (1951-1953): Franklin joined King's College London as a research associate, initially intending to work on proteins and lipids. However, she was reassigned to work on DNA fibres. 
• Here, she produced exceptionally clear X-ray diffraction images of DNA, most famously "Photo 51", which revealed the helical structure of DNA and provided crucial quantitative data. 
• The working environment at King's College was often challenging for Franklin due to personality conflicts and gender bias. Her data, including Photo 51, was shared with James Watson and Francis Crick without her direct knowledge or permission and was essential for their development of the DNA double helix model.
• Birkbeck College, London (1953-1958): After leaving King's College, Franklin moved to Birkbeck College.She established her research team and shifted her focus to the molecular structures of viruses, particularly the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and later the polio virus. 
• Her work at Birkbeck was highly successful, and she published numerous papers that laid the foundations for the field of structural virology. She received recognition for her work on viruses during her lifetime.

Personal Life & Death

Rosalind Franklin was known for her intellectual rigour, keen sense of justice, and strong personality. She was a private individual but also had a lively sense of humour and enjoyed leisure activities such as sports, sewing, cooking, and travelling. 

She was devoted to her family and maintained close ties with her prominent Anglo-Jewish family, which had a strong emphasis on education and public service.

Tragically, Rosalind Franklin's life was cut short. In the fall of 1956, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, likely due to her extensive exposure to X-rays during her research. She continued to work despite her illness, undergoing several operations and experimental chemotherapy.

Rosalind Franklin died on April 16, 1958, at the age of 37. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins in 1962 for the discovery of the structure of DNA, four years after the death of Rosalind Franklin, who played a significant role in the discovery. 

The Nobel Committee does not award posthumous prizes, which is why Franklin was not recognised, despite her critical contributions to the discovery. In recent decades, her vital role in unravelling the structure of DNA has become widely acknowledged and celebrated.

What Are The Major Contributions Of Rosalind Franklin To Medicine And Science?

Rosalind Franklin made several significant contributions to various fields of science, with lasting impacts on our understanding of fundamental biological and material structures. Her major contributions follow:

Pioneering X-ray Crystallography Techniques:

She was a meticulous experimentalist and became highly skilled in X-ray diffraction techniques.

She refined methods for preparing samples and obtaining high-quality X-ray diffraction patterns, especially for complex biological molecules and amorphous substances. This technical expertise was crucial for all her later discoveries.

Elucidating the Structure of DNA:

• "Photo 51": Her most famous contribution is "Photo 51", a remarkably clear X-ray diffraction image of the "B" form of DNA (the hydrated form found in living cells). This image, along with her detailed analysis, provided critical evidence for the helical structure of DNA, including its dimensions and the spacing of its base pairs.
• Distinguishing A and B Forms of DNA: Franklin also identified and clearly differentiated between the "A" (dehydrated) and "B" (hydrated) forms of DNA, understanding that DNA's structure changed with its water content. This was a vital insight for understanding DNA's flexibility and function.
• Quantitative Data for the Double Helix: Her precise measurements from X-ray diffraction patterns, including the density of DNA and the position of the phosphate backbone on the outside of the helix, were instrumental in guiding Watson and Crick's construction of the double helix model.

Revealing the Structure of Viruses:

• Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV): After her work on DNA, Franklin made groundbreaking contributions to structural virology. She precisely determined the helical structure of the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), showing that its RNA was embedded within the protein rather than in a central cavity.
• Polio Virus: She also initiated significant work on the structure of the polio virus, laying the groundwork for further understanding of its structure and ultimately contributing to vaccine development efforts.

Understanding the Structure of Coal and Graphite:

• Porosity of Coal: Her early work on coal provided fundamental insights into its physical structure, particularly its porosity, which had practical applications for fuel efficiency and industrial processes.
• Graphitisation Process: She extensively studied the process by which carbon materials transform into graphite under heat, identifying the key distinction between "graphitising" and "non-graphitising" carbons. This work was significant for materials science and the development of carbon materials.