deoxyribonucleic acid — like any in force codification — take away quite a longsighted sentence for humans to check ( and we ’re still working on it ) . The discovery of the double helix structure of molecules in the mid-20th century is widely credit to Francis Crick and James D. Watson , but it was a breakthrough that was aided by the work of many the great unwashed — perhaps most notably , a woman by the name ofRosalind Franklin .
In theTED - Ed lessonabove , “ Rosalind Franklin : DNA ’s unvalued wedge , ” Cláudio L. Guerra , with the assist of narrator Susan Zimmerman and animator Chris Bishop , briefly detail the living and work of this often drop pioneer .
In short , Franklin is the someone behind theX - ray imageknown asPhoto 51 — the one that helped Watson and Crick crack the structure of DNA . The brace ’s groundbreaking ceremony study was published alongside Franklin ’s , but they reset the endure bequest as well as a Nobel Prize in 1962 . Franklin had died of cancer before the award were handed out , and Nobel Prizes are n’t award posthumously ; in the years since , there ’s beenmuchdebate over whether Franklin would have been included in the ceremony had she lived to see it .
There ’s also some lasting argumentation over just how much Watson and Crick owe to Franklin , and — perhaps principally — whether theystole her data . What is clear is that Franklin was an essential player in the uncovering of the double helix and was right alongside her male similitude with the analytic thinking and findings . Her Photo 51 is whatallowed the breakthrough to happen , and for that she should be remembered and celebrated . ( Not to mentionall the other historical workshe did in her far too brusk life . )
[ h / tThe Mary Sue ]
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