DNA structure
The remarkable feat of the discovery of the structure of DNA, in 1953, is usually associated with James Watson and Francis Crick. Maurice Wilkins also played a crucial role in this discovery, and he shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine with Watson and Crick for the discovery. However, another important figure involved was the brilliant by short-lived Rosalind Franklin, for without whom the discovery would not have been possible. In the early 1950s, the race to discover the structure of DNA was on, and at least two groups were hot on the trail. At Cambridge University, a British graduate student Francis Crick and an American research fellow James Watson, where studying DNA by trying to create physical models to narrow down the possibilities and eventually create an accurate picture of the DNA molecule. At King's College, in London, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins were also studying DNA taking an experimental approach using x-ray diffraction as their main tool, allowing them to obtain images of DNA. Four main ideas had to come together to obtain the correct and accurate structure of DNA:◦ the molecule was a double helix ◦ the strands were antiparallel◦ specific base pairing ◦ th
Franklin applied her expertise to the cumbersome DNA molecule. Wilkins supplied the DNA samples, which were used for this analysis and was also working on nucleic acids and x-ray diffraction of DNA before Franklin arrived. With this technique, the locations of atoms in any crystal can be precisely mapped by observing an image of the crystal under an x-ray beam. Crick later admitted that he and others used to adopt a patronising attitude towards her. Then after complicated analysis of the photographs, she discovered that the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA was on the outside of the molecule since water would be attracted to the phosphates in the backbone and the DNA was easily hydrated and dehydrated. So since no work had been done on DNA for several months, it was all given to Franklin. However, she did not want to announce these findings until she had sufficient evidence on the other from as well. However, this was not true, and it strained the relationship between Wilkins and Franklin, thus the beginnings of a poor and rough relationship were sown, slowing the progress. This is all evidence of the impact of the poor quality of collaboration and communication between Franklin and some of her fellow scientists due to the sexism of her time, which considerably slowed the progress of the discovery of the structure of DNA. It was Wilkins's idea to study DNA through x-ray crystallographic techniques, which he had already begun to apply when Randall appointed Franklin. In 1951, Franklin went to work as a research associate for Randall at King's College due to her expertise on x-ray crystallographic methods. e phosphate backbone was on the outside of the molecule & bases on the inside; and all these ideas where successfully demonstrated through the model proposed by Watson andCrick. Watson and Crick had also just learned of Chargaff's findings on base pairing and added that to the model. Early in 1953, Wilkins showed Watson one of Franklin's B "wet" form photographs without her consent or knowledge. He returned to Cambridge, and based on this information, Watson and Crick made a failed model of DNA consisting of a triple helix with bases on the outside.
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