EXACTLY how did Rosalind Franklin contribute to the discovery of DNA?
Franklin had no part in "discovering DNA," since DNA was discovered by Friedrich Meischer in the 1860s, well before Franklin was even born. She also had no part in showing that DNA was the genetic material--that was done by Oswald Avery and his colleagues, and Hershey and Chase in the 1930s-40s. Rather, her work played a role in elucidating the structure of DNA, which was achieved in 1953. Not clear what level of detail you're after--do you understand Fourier analysis??? If not, then there's a serious limit to the detail that you're likely to be able to comprehend. I'll give you the gist of what any intelligent layman ought to know-- Franklin obtained crystals of DNA, passed X-rays through them and analyzed the resulting diffraction pattern produced on a piece of photographic film (see Fourier analysis above). The pattern was characteristic of a double helical structure, and bond angles and bond lengths could be calculated. Watson and Crick were able to develop their idea for a double helix model based on the hard data provided by Franklin's crystallograph. Their advantage over her is that they were single-mindedly obsessed with solving the structure, and they combined the crystallographic results with their willingness to play with physical (i.e. cardboard and later sheet metal) models, something Franklin thought of as amateurish. In other words, Watson and Crick were using approaches that were unconventional for the time, "thinking outside the box," Franklin was a good scientist and an excellent crystallographer, but she a) did not have someone she could collaborate well with, b) unlike the two "redhots," Watson and Crick, she did not consider herself involved in a "race," and c) because she was careful and cautious, she was unwilling to take the kind of intellectual and professional risks that they were willing to take. However, without access to her results, it's very possible they would have been scooped by someone else, e.g. Linus Pauling.
What was Rosalind Franklin's major contribution to the discovery of DNA?
Her major contribution was her X-ray diffraction study of the DNA molecule. She hypothesized the DNA was helical in structure, but her unpublished data was was used by Watson and Crick in their 1953 publication establishing DNA's double-helix structure. Hope this helps! Santiago R. Lopez, Ph.D. htttp://www.SantiagoRLopez.com
When was Rosalind Franklin's contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA publicly recognized?
Rosalind Franklin performed X-ray crystallography and was essential to the discovery of DNA structure. Watson spews that she didn't know how to interpret her results but evidence actually indicates that not only did she understand the meaning behind her work, but that she was beaten to the finish line by Watson and Crick who stealing her results were able to finish before her. Watson took advantage of the fact that women were not seen as capable and as such, he was able to steal her work robbing her of credit.
How did Rosalind Franklin contribute to WW2?
I had no idea who Rosalind Franklin was, so I decided to do a little research.Let’s start with who she was. Rosalind Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer during WWII.Apparently she played a big role in the discovery of the structure of DNA. That’s really cool. She also was known for her “pioneering use of X-ray diffraction.” (Source at bottom)Did she contribute to WWII? I think not, because my source says that she was still in grad school in 1945. It seems kind of unlikely that she aided in the development of nuclear weaponry or something, especially considering her field.If I am factually incorrect anywhere, please comment and tell me where I went wrong, it will be greatly appreciated.Source: Rosalind Franklin
How did Rosalind Franklin contribute to our understanding of DNA?
She made a picture of DNA using Xray crystallography. It was the final clue that Watson and Crick needed to realize that DNA was a double helix. Franklin was about to solve that mystery herself, but her co-worker took the picture off her desk and gave it to Watson and Crick.
What exactly was Rosalind Franklin's contribution to finding the structure of DNA and how much recognition did she get?
I have already answered this question on Quora. On 2 February I wrote:A certain amount of care must be exercised when answering this question. Very few people who knew the protagonists in the DNA story (at King's College London and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge) are alive today. There are many conflicting stories about who said what and who did what and a lot of disinformation is in wide circulation.There is no doubt that Francis Crick played a leading (and one might claim dominant) role in the proceedings but he is quoted (in Matt Ridley's biography of Crick, p. 74) as saying "If Watson had been killed ... I am reasonably sure that I would not have solved the structure alone, but who would?". From that one can conclude that both Crick and Watson were key players. But they relied on structural data and that came from the King's College group headed by Maurice Wilkins aided by postdoc Rosalind Franklin and PhD student Ray Gosling. All three made important contributions and in particular "Wilkins, with Gosling's help, was about to build a model that March" (March 1953. Quote from Ridley's book p. 74). The key role that Gosling took in all this was that it was he who produced the key X-ray photograph no. 51. See for Professor Raymond Gosling, DNA scientist - obituary further details.As for Rosalind’s own contributions, there were probably many that weren’t documented, including acting alongside Maurice Wilkins as supervisor to PhD student Gosling. She published one key paper together with Gosling: Molecular Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate. ROSALIND E. FRANKLIN & R. G. GOSLING. Nature 171, pages 740–741 (1953).Discussions concerning “who did what” in scientific collaborations can often be tricky and outsiders can easily get the wrong idea and propagate it as “fact”. I tried to remedy this situation many years ago and it has met with some success: Film industry shows how to give credit where due. Robert P. Bywater. Nature 416, page 365 (28 March 2002)
What is the contribution of Rosalind Franklin to the world of DNA?
She was a great Scientist. The X- Ray crystallographic pictures of DNA was made & the idea of double helical structure was made by her for first time by her. Unfortunately she was not recognised for her outstanding discovery on DNA structure.
Why didn't Rosalind Franklin get credit for the discovery of the structure of DNA? What was the role of Rosalind Elsie Franklin in making the DNA double helix model?
According to Jim Watson, who spoke at UCSF yesterday, Rosalind Franklin did not “deserve” to get credit for the discovery of the structure of DNA because although she completed the X-ray crystallography work that Watson and Crick based their theory on, she did not come up with the final structural theory herself.During her X-ray crystallography studies, Franklin discovered both an A form and a B form of DNA. The B form showed evidence of a double helix, but she concentrated on the A form for several months and in the end did not pursue the B form to the full structure. However, her experiments and accurate interpretation of the B form did lead to her discovery of the critical information that the structure was a double helix and that the phosphate groups of DNA were located on the outside of the structure. This was important as both Watson and Crick and Linus Pauling had previously independently generated incorrect models of DNA that placed the phosphate groups on the inside and the bases on the outside.In the end, Watson and Crick based their theory directly on Franklin’s X-ray crystallography studies and without it may not have come up with correct structure. Furthermore, their theory would still have been merely a theory at the time without her work showing some evidence that it was correct. Yet, although she discovered the double helix and position of the phosphate groups, she did not fully determine the remaining aspects of the DNA structure, such as how the bases fit together.Regardless, I would say that the fact this question on Quora exists means that she is at least in some way recognized for her discoveries. She could not receive the Nobel Prize with Watson, Crick, and Wilkins in 1962 because she had passed away from cancer in 1958, and the prize cannot be awarded posthumously. Whether she would have received the prize had she survived is an open question.
Describe Rosalind Franklin's contribution to our knowledge about DNA.?
She is the person who actually did the experiments showing the double helix structure of DNA. Watson and Crick stole that information from her and passed it on as their own.
How did X-ray diffraction studies contribute to the discovery of the structure of DNA? What specific insights were provided by these studies?
X-ray diffraction was the crucial evidence for the DNA structure elucidation. DNA ofcourse forms fibers, and not single crystals. However, the diffraction pattern from the carefully prepared fibres by Rosalind Franklin turned out to be the principle experimental basis on which the model was built by Watson and Crick. The cross-like pattern of DNA fibres suggested that the molecular is helical. Two strong diffraction intensities above and below the central spot, provided the evidence that there is a periodicity of 3.4 Angstroms in the vertical direction. We now know that this is the stacking distance between the bases of the DNA. In the X-like pattern, there are ten layers of spots, suggesting that there could 10 bases in a helical turn, which we now know is close. Thus, the model constructed could be fitted into the diffraction pattern, what we know today as the classical B DNA structure.