Part One of our Trail-Blazing Pioneers!
Trail-Blazing Pioneers Series!
Hey Guys! Today's blog post will be introducing a new series to Faces of Silicon Valley! Along with the people who have done exemplary things in Silicon Valley and beyond, some blog posts will introduce a bit of information about people who have shaped history, fought for their rights, or made trail-blazing discoveries! Today's trail-blazing pioneer will be Rosalind Franklin, in honor of her birthday, which was four days ago on July 25th. The information about Rosalind Franklin will be a piece of information I wrote for a school project a couple of years ago:
Overview:
Don't you ever wonder, why humans look exactly like one of their parents and sometimes they look like an interesting mix of both of them? The reason for that is genetics, but genetics isn't the only factor that causes us to look the way we do, the main factor is deoxyribonucleic acid (dee-aak-see-rai-bow-noo-klay-uhk a-suhd) or as we most commonly know it, DNA. But the person behind this prominent discovery is often forgotten and it was only until recently that her works have been published for everyone to celebrate her success.
Rosalind Franklin is often ignored for the essential role she played in the discovery of the DNA. These discoveries, led to ground-breaking studies in genetics, and has also proved helpful to curing genetically caused diseases. Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant British scientist, chemist, and biophysicist who lived in London for most of her life, but spent her research and education in Paris. Although Franklin enjoyed Paris, she moved back to London, where she was offered a job at King's College, and in 1953 Franklin using X-Ray diffraction or X-Ray crystallography, she was able to demonstrate the double-helix structure of DNA. This proved that DNA was the molecule that contained genetic instructions for the development of all living organisms like plants and animals, etc.
When Franklin discovered DNA, she also discovered its structure, its density, and established where this molecule came from, based on all this data Franklin gave a presentation to share her data with the wider known scientific community at King' s College, and in the audience were James Watson, Francis Crick and Franklin's partner Maurice Wilkins. Watson and Crick were partners of molecular biology, who attended the talk to give their own presentation which hadn't turned out the way they'd expected. When Watson and Crick expressed their interest in Franklin's work, Franklin's partner shared images and more of Franklin's experimental data with Watson and Crick without Franklin’s knowledge. Shortly after this talk Franklin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, while Watson and Crick wrote a paper, based on data collected by Franklin, without acknowledging Franklin's contribution, and claiming it as their own research. The two were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, just four years after Franklin's death, (caused by ovarian cancer) and until recently, Franklin was never given credit for her contribution to the discovery of DNA.
A Deeper Look:
Rosalind Franklin isn't only a story of science but it's also a story of justice, though Franklin hadn't lived that long and died at the age of 37, Franklin’s research of DNA, led others to understand DNA is the essential component to genetics. Franklin’s research and discovery of the structure of DNA led the pathway to establish the fact that all living organisms contain DNA, the molecule that contains genetic information and is vital for the development and function of a living organism. Readers will gain the opportunity to learn about justice, feminism, science, but most importantly, they'll learn about a brilliant but neglected pioneer of DNA, a vital piece of scientific history.
Did you know that humans share about 99.9% of identical DNA, it's only the small 0.1% that makes each human unique and different? Isn't it strange how one tiny strand of DNA can make a whole difference? Who's behind the data and science of DNA? There's so many questions, yet one person holds all the answers. In reality, many scientists, geneticists, biologists, chemists, and many more helped bring the data about DNA to light. But the person who paved the starting path for all of these pioneers in the fields of biology, genetics, science, and medicine begins with a story of a woman who faced many injustices in her life all because of gender bias. Rosalind Franklin, was the unsung hero of deoxyribonucleic acid( dee- aak- see- rai- bow- noo - klay- uhk - a - suhd) or as we most commonly know it, DNA.
Rosalind Franklin is often ignored for the essential role she played in the discovery of the DNA. These discoveries, led to ground-breaking studies in genetics, and has also proved helpful to curing genetically caused diseases. Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant British scientist, chemist, and biophysicist who lived in London for most of her life, but spent her research and education in Paris. Although Franklin enjoyed Paris, she moved back to London, where she was offered a job at King's College, and in 1953 Franklin using X - Ray diffraction or X - Ray crystallography, she was able to demonstrate the double - helix structure of DNA. This proved that DNA was the molecule that contained genetic instructions for the development of all living organisms like plants and animals, etc.
When Franklin discovered DNA, she also discovered its structure, its density, and established where this molecule came from, based on all this data Franklin gave a presentation to share her data with the wider known scientific community at King' s College, and in the audience were James Watson, Francis Crick and Franklin's partner Maurice Wilkins. Watson and Crick were partners of molecular biology, who attended the talk to give their own presentation which hadn't turned out the way they'd expected. When Watson and Crick expressed their interest in Franklin's work, Franklin's partner shared images and more of Franklin's experimental data with Watson and Crick without Franklin’s knowledge. Shortly after this talk Franklin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, while Watson and Crick wrote a paper, based on data collected by Franklin, without acknowledging Franklin's contribution, and claiming it as their own research. The two were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, just four years after Franklin's death, ( caused by ovarian cancer ) and until recently, Franklin was never given credit for her contribution to the discovery of DNA.
Rosalind Franklin isn't only a story of science but it's also a story of justice, though Franklin hadn't lived that long and died at the age of 37, Franklin’s research of DNA, led others to understand DNA is the essential component to genetics. Franklin’s research and discovery of the DNA structure led the pathway to establish that all living organisms contain DNA, the molecule that contains genetic information and is vital for the development and function of every living organism. Rosalind Franklin was not only a neglected pioneer of DNA, a vital piece of scientific history, but she’s a motivation for many aspiring young scientists, biologists, etc.
P.S. - In news related events to Faces of Silicon Valley, please stayed tuned for another upcoming interview in the coming days...the earliest we can expect this interview is near the end of this week. However, we may hold off posting the interview for a couple of weeks, if that occurs I'll be sure to let you guys know! Remember, please don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to be interviewed or you'd like to share your story. You can always send comments and messages! :)
Update (08/04)-Hey Guys! You can expect the interview to occur some time after this Wednesday (08/07). Thanks for your patience! My goal is to post these as often as possible, so most likely every month :)
And, remember, please don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to be interviewed or you'd like to share your story. You can always send comments and messages! :)
Back to Rosalind Franklin; Here's the bibliography (annotated):
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Rosalind Franklin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rosalind-Franklin. Accessed 24 February 2023.
This article gives details of Rosalind Franklin's life, for instance it gives readers further insight on her research and where she developed her research. The article uses these details to explain Franklin's life and the decisions he made. This article was published by Brittanica, a credible site often used for research and data, the author made sure to list good sources, in case readers wanted to divulge further into Franklin's situation. This article was particularly essential because it provided me with basic facts that I was able to incorporate into my article when describing Franklin's life.
“Dr. Rosalind Franklin.” Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science , https://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/about/facts-figures/dr-rosalind-franklin/.
This online article provides the reader with details about Rosalind Franklin's research and also explains her journey to collect her research on DNA. It uses this data to explain how Franklin was able to continue her research, the data explains that Franklin got the idea based on research inducted from past scientists, the article also explains what Franklin's research was about. The article was produced by the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, a respected university that represents the future of biomedical science and integrated health care, and makes sure to list their source to help readers further their knowledge on Franklin's life and research. This article was especially important because it provided me with more sources, and made sure to deliver what the double helix DNA structure is and why it's more important than just a molecular structure in our bodies, it also represents a forgotten pioneer's place in history.
Elkin, Lynne. “Rosalind Elsie Franklin.” The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women , Jewish Women's Archive, https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/franklin-rosalind.
Glynn, Jennifer. “Remembering My Sister Rosalind Franklin.” The Lancet, 24 Mar. 2012, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60452-8/fulltext#:~:text=Rosalind%20Franklin%20died%20of%20ovarian,new%20generation%20of%20scientific%20girls.
Hernandez, Victoria. Photograph 51, by Rosalind Franklin (1952), The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 30 Dec. 2019, https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/photograph-51-rosalind-franklin-1952#:~:text=Maurice%20Wilkins%2C%20Franklin%C2%B4s,their%20structural%20model%20of%20DNA.
“James D. Watson, Ph.D.” Academy of Achievement, , 3 Mar. 2022, https://achievement.org/achiever/james-d-watson/#:~:text=In%20mid%2DMarch%201953%2C%20using,published%20on%20April%2025%2C%201953.
Maddox, Brenda. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002
Marton, Marc. Rosalind Franklin – Forgotten Pioneer of DNA, Past Medical History , 30 Dec. 2019, https://www.pastmedicalhistory.co.uk/rosalind-franklin-forgotten-pioneer-of-dna/#:~:text=Rosalind%20Franklin%20is%20one%20of,she%20deserved%20at%20the%20time.
Mehnert, Robert. “Papers of Rosalind Franklin Added to the National Library of Medicine’s Profiles in Science Website.” National Institutes of Health , Feb. 2007,
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/papers-rosalind-franklin-added-national-library-medicines-profiles-science-website.
“Rosalind Franklin: A Crucial Contribution.” Scitable by Nature Education, https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/rosalind-franklin-a-crucial-contribution-6538012/.
“The Discovery of the Double Helix, 1951-1953.” National Library of Medicine , https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/sc/feature/doublehelix.
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