17/04/2025
Today is April 16. Let me introduce you to a woman whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of , yet, her contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely during her life, for which she has been variously referred to as the "wronged heroine", the "dark lady of DNA", the "forgotten heroine", a "feminist icon", and the "Sylvia Plath of molecular biology". That great lady is our "scientist of the day" today.
It's death anniversary of , the dark lady of DNA - - -
(Scientist of the Day - 16 April)
Franklin graduated in 1941 with a degree in natural sciences from Newnham College, Cambridge. The research on helped Franklin earn a PhD from Cambridge in 1945. Moving to Paris in 1947 as a postdoctoral researcher, she became an accomplished and famous X-ray .
Franklin’s short scientific carrier produced brilliant contributions to the structure of carbon, DNA, and and spherical . At 30, she was a recognized authority who switched from carbon to DNA research and, a few years later, to nucleic-acid-protein complexes known as viruses. She made landmark contributions that led to two Nobel Prizes. She did not receive or witness either of them.
Her work on the X-ray diffraction images of DNA, led to the discovery of the DNA double helix for which , , and shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Watson suggested that Franklin would have ideally been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Wilkins, but although there was not yet a rule against posthumous awards, the Nobel Committee generally did not give them.
More than 100 years after her birthday, Franklin’s scientific contributions are even more important now than during her lifetime. She received many (Posthumous) recognition/honors from all over the world:-
- In 1997, a newly discovered asteroid was named 9241 Rosfranklin.
- In 2004, Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, USA changed its name to the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.
- In 2019, the European Space Agency (ESA) named its ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin.
- On 30 June 2021, a satellite named after her (ÑuSat 19 or "Rosalind", COSPAR 2021-059AC) was launched into space. etc.