Rosalind Franklin

Introduction

Rosalind Elsie Franklin (July 25, 1920 - April 16, 1958) is a well-known X-ray crystallographer and British chemist whose modern inventions have contributed much to understanding molecular structures in a bound of fields. Her research involves DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), coal, viruses, RNA (ribonucleic acid), and graphite, among other things. Despite being recognized during her presence for her work on coal and viruses, Franklin's major role in the discovery of the DNA structure was not well appreciated. Afterward, she has been described as the "wronged heroine," the "dark lady of DNA," the "forgotten heroine," a "feminist icon," and even the "Sylvia Plath of molecular biology." Franklin's connection to science will be honored, particularly in molecular biology and crystallography.

Rosalind Franklin gained a degree in natural sciences from Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1941. Following her undergraduate studies, she attained a Ph.D. in physical chemistry under Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, the University of Cambridge's 1920 Chair of Physical Chemistry. On the other hand, Franklin was frustrated with Norrish's lack of enthusiasm, prompting her to look for other alternatives. She accepted an examination job with the British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) in 1942, and her work on coal gained her a PhD from Cambridge in 1945. Franklin then moved to Paris in 1947 to work as a chercheur (postdoctoral researcher) at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l'Etat under Jacques Mering, where she expert her talents as an expert X-ray crystallographer.

Franklin began working as a research associate at King's College London in 1951. During her tenure there, she made generous contributions to DNA research, discovering fundamental presents that were eventually used to describe the double helix structure of DNA accurately. Disagreements with her director, John Randall, and colleague Maurice Wilkins, on the other hand, led to Franklin's choice to transfer to Birkbeck College in 1953. Rosalind Franklin is well known for her seminal assistance to molecular biology, mainly her work at King's College London on X-ray diffraction pictures of DNA. One of her most famous successes was the creation of Photo 51, a critical photograph captured by her pupil Raymond Gosling. Despite the importance of her work, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was shared in 1962 by Francis Crick, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins. Franklin's essential contribution to the discovery was acknowledged by James Watson, who believed that she and Wilkins should have shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Early Life

Family

Franklin was born into a wealthy and vital British Jewish family in 50 Chepstow Villas, Notting Hill, London. Rosalind Franklin was born to Ellis Arthur Franklin and Muriel Frances Waley and is well-known for her influences on molecular biology. Her father, Ellis Arthur Franklin, was a politically liberal London merchant banker who also worked as a teacher at the city's Working Men's College. Muriel Frances Waley, her mother, was a reassuring presence in the family. Rosalind grew up in a lively atmosphere as the oldest daughter and second child among five siblings. Her elder brother, David (1919-1986), as well as younger siblings Colin (1923-2020), Roland (born 1926), and Jenifer (born 1929), were all mates of her family. Rosalind Franklin began on a unique path that would leave a remarkable impression on the scientific community despite her diverse familial background. Rosalind Franklin, the famous scientist, came from a family drenched in politics and public service. Herbert Samuel and Viscount Samuel made history as the first preparing Jew in the British Cabinet when he aided as Home Secretary in 1916. Her aunt, Helen Caroline Franklin, popularly known as Mamie, was married to Norman de Mattos Bentwich, who worked as Attorney General in the British Mandate of Palestine. Helen was particularly active in trade union organizations and the women's suffrage movement, eventually becoming a member of the London County Council. Hugh Franklin, Rosalind's uncle, was an important figure in the suffrage movement, albeit his efforts occasionally created embarrassment within the Franklin family. Rosalind's second name, "Elsie," had special meaning because it was a memorial to Hugh's first wife, who died tragically in the 1918 flu epidemic. The Franklins' work with the Working Men's College demonstrated their dedication to education and social problems. Rosalind's father, in particular, contributed by teaching courses like electricity, magnetism, and World War I history during evening sessions and eventually rising to the post of vice principal.

Cambridge and World War II

Rosalind Franklin entered Newnham College in Cambridge in 1938 to study chemistry as part of the Natural Sciences Tripos program. During her tenure at Cambridge, she met Bill Price, a spectroscopist who became not just her laboratory demonstrator but also a senior colleague at King's College London. Franklin's academic career at Cambridge came to a close in 1941 when she received second-class honors in her final exams, a distinction recognized as a bachelor's degree for employment purposes. Notably, starting in 1947, Cambridge began bestowing titular BA and MA degrees on women, and this retrospective recognition was extended to previous female graduates. Franklin made an important relationship with Adrienne Weill, a French refugee and former student of Marie Curie, during her final year at Cambridge. Weill was a significant figure in Franklin's life and work, providing invaluable support and assisting her in improving her conversational French skills. Rosalind Franklin was awarded a research companionship at Newnham College, which led her to the University of Cambridge's physical chemistry department, where she functioned under the instruction of Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, who would later win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Her one-year shift in the laboratory, however, demonstrated difficult and ineffective. According to his biographer, Norrish acquired qualities such as obstinacy, perversity in debate, and sensitivity to criticism. This made it difficult for him to assign Franklin appropriate duties, creating to an unproductive work environment.

To make matters worse, Norrish was dealing with the aftereffects of heavy drinking at the time. Franklin described her growing dislike for her instructor as a result of his behavior, highlighting the difficulties she had while working under his supervision. Rosalind Franklin left Norrish's Lab in 1942 to meet the requirements of the National Service Acts by working as an assistant research officer at the British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA). BCURA, located on the Coombe Springs Estate near Kingston upon Thames in London's southwest, played an important role during this time. Franklin's old advisor, Norrish, also worked as a military advisor at BCURA, contributing to the war effort. John G. Bennett was the director of BCURA at the time. Notably, the school drew a broad range of people, including consultants and lecturers like Marcello Pirani and Victor Goldschmidt, both of whom were Nazi refugees. Rosalind Franklin worked hard in this fast-paced setting, contributing to BCURA's research operations during this pivotal time. Rosalind Franklin initially resided at Adrienne Weill's boarding home in Cambridge during her BCURA study. However, her living situation changed when her cousin, Irene Franklin, suggested that they share quarters in an empty Putney property owned by her uncle. Rosalind and Irene took on the burden of volunteering as Air Raid Wardens in Putney. Their responsibilities included regular patrols to protect people's safety during air raids. Rosalind Franklin's dual role in scientific research and community engagement highlighted her unique and multifaceted achievements during a pivotal moment in history. Rosalind Franklin pioneered studies on the porosity of coal, using helium as a tool to determine its density. Her research led to the discovery of a link between the small constrictions within coal pores and the permeability of the porous region.

Franklin discovered the ejection of compounds in accordance with their molecular size as temperatures increased through methodical experimentation. This perceptive discovery aided in the classification of coals and allowed for accurate estimates of their performance, particularly for fuel and the manufacture of wartime gear such as gas masks. Franklin's considerable study in this field served as the foundation for her Ph.D. thesis, "The Physical Chemistry of Solid Organic Colloids with Particular Reference to Coal," for which she received a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1945. Her discoveries also served as the foundation for other key studies, confirming her contributions to the understanding of coal's physical and chemical features.

Career and Research

Paris

With World War II over, Franklin approached Adrienne Weill for assistance and to notify her of job vacancies for "a physical chemist who knows very little physical chemistry but quite a lot about the holes in coal." Weill introduced Franklin to Marcel Mathieu, director of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the network of institutes that constitutes the majority of the scientific research facilities financed by the French government, at a conference in the autumn of 1946. Weill introduced Franklin to Marcel Mathieu, director of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), a network of institutes that makes up the majority of the French government-funded scientific research laboratories. This led to her appointment at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l'Etat in Paris with Jacques Mering. Franklin entered Mering's work on February 14, 1947, as one of fifteen chercheurs (researchers). Mering, an X-ray crystallographer, made substantial contributions to the study of rayon and other amorphous substances using X-ray diffraction. This was a break from the conventional focus of X-ray crystallography on regular crystals. Mering was influential in teaching Franklin the practical elements of using X-ray crystallography for amorphous substances, which presented new issues in experimental design and result interpretation.

Franklin, guided by Mering, expanded these techniques to explore a variety of difficulties with coal and other carbonaceous materials. Her research, particularly on the changes in atomic arrangement during material conversion to graphite, resulted in multiple papers being published. These contributions have now proven essential to our understanding of coal and carbon physics and chemistry. Franklin is credited with coining terminology like "graphitizing" and "non-graphitizing carbon" throughout her research. Furthermore, Franklin's investigation of carbon, aided by X-ray diffraction and other technologies, demonstrated her ongoing commitment to increasing our understanding of various forms of carbon. This study contributed important insights into the area, adding to a better understanding of carbon's properties and behavior. Meanwhile, Mering conducted his research into carbon in various forms, using X-ray diffraction and other scientific approaches to further our grasp of this critical element.

King's College London

Rosalind Franklin was awarded a three-year Turner & Newall Fellowship in 1950, allowing her to do research at King's College London. Franklin began working as a research associate with the Medical Research Council's (MRC) Biophysics Unit in January 1951, reporting to John Randall. Initially engaged with X-ray diffraction of proteins and lipids in solution, her focus turned to DNA fibers when breakthroughs in the field emerged. Randall made this decision even before Franklin started working at King's, prompted by DNA pioneer Maurice Wilkins' significant contributions. During this time, Franklin was the only experienced tentative diffraction researcher at King's. Recognizing the value of teamwork, Randall relocated Raymond Gosling, a doctoral student who had previously worked with Wilkins, to serve as Franklin's research assistant. This intentional reshuffling mirrored the dynamic character of scientific investigation and the collaborative atmosphere that existed inside King's College London's Biophysics Unit in the early 1950s. Rudolf Signer, a Swiss scientist based in Berne, methodically prepared a highly purified DNA sample taken from calf thymus in 1950. Notably, during the Faraday Society meeting in London in early May 1950, Signer graciously gave this DNA sample, after that named the Signer DNA.

Among those honored was scientist Maurice Wilkins, who, with Raymond Gosling, had captured a high-quality diffraction image of a DNA sample using quite simple equipment. This accomplishment sparked renewed interest in the study of DNA. However, their supervisor, Sir John Randall, had yet to report to Wilkins and Gosling that he had appointed Rosalind Franklin to oversee both the DNA diffraction study and the supervision of Gosling's thesis at the time. The lack of information surrounding this reassignment had a crucial role in the well-documented conflict that ensued between Wilkins and Franklin. During Wilkins' absence on vacation, Randall told Franklin in a letter dated December 1950 that she and Gosling would be the only contributors to the experimental X-ray effort at the time. Wilkins returned and handed over the Signer DNA sample as well as responsibility for Gosling's work to Franklin. Rosalind Franklin changed her focus to unraveling the structure of DNA in partnership with Gosling, utilizing her skill in X-ray diffraction techniques. Wilkins, who had originally requested a new fine-focus X-ray tube and microcamera, witnessed Franklin methodically improve and modify the equipment. Franklin developed a camera chamber that could be accurately regulated for humidity using various saturated salt solutions, drawing on her experience in physical chemistry. Franklin's response was given with a cool superiority, unwittingly upsetting Wilkins when he enquired about this enhanced method. Despite interpersonal difficulties, Franklin's rigorous effort and unique approach contributed significantly to our understanding of DNA structure.

Discovery of DNA Structure

In November 1951, James Watson and Francis Crick, researchers at Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory, began building a molecular model for B-DNA using data similar to that available to their colleagues at King's College. Watson and Crick developed a triple helix model in response to Rosalind Franklin's November 1951 presentation, in which she proposed that DNA had a helical structure with two or three strands. This hypothesis, however, was quickly dismissed, owing to the positioning of the phosphate backbone creating a central core. Franklin responded by emphasizing the increased solubility of DNA crystals in water, showing that the hydrophilic phosphate groups were more likely to be on the outside.

Furthermore, difficulties in titrating the bases' CO- and NH2 groups revealed that they were inaccessible within the structure's interior. Faced with these problems, Watson and Crick shifted their concentrate to other areas of research for most of the following year. Linus Pauling used model-building techniques to clarify the structure of the alpha helix in 1951 successfully. Rosalind Franklin, a well-known scientist and biophysicist, took a more careful approach to model development. Despite Pauling's accomplishment, Franklin was emphatic about building models once enough data was available to direct the process appropriately. She believed that making a model should begin only when a large component of the structure had been thoroughly comprehended. This conviction was strengthened when Pauling and Corey proposed an incorrect triple helix model in late 1952 (published in February 1953). Because of Franklin's careful disposition, she prioritized the elimination of potentially misleading possibilities. Photographs of her worktable at Birkbeck show that she employed small molecular models on a regular basis, though not on the massive scale seen in the DNA research at Cambridge. Franklin's rigorous research was critical in furthering our understanding of DNA structure. The receipt of Linus Pauling's defective article in Cambridge in January 1953 prompted action from Lawrence Bragg, the leader of the Cavendish Laboratory. This encouraged James Watson and Francis Crick to restart their efforts to create a DNA model. In response to the challenge, the pair put in six weeks of hard effort attempting to figure out how nucleotide bases could fit into the center of the DNA structure. Their work was led by the broad criteria set by the King's College team's experimental findings, which suggested that the structure should consist of one or more helices with a repetition distance of 34 Angstroms and around 10 elements in each repeat. It was also suggested that the hydrophilic phosphate groups be placed on the structure's perimeter.

As they worked to develop a unified DNA model, Watson and Crick occasionally departed from these assumptions. James Watson and Francis Crick made a big advance in their effort to understand the structure of DNA in mid-February 1953. Crick's receipt of a report, kindly offered by his thesis advisor, Max Perutz, represented a watershed moment. Rosalind Franklin methodically performed key crystallographic calculations in this paper, which was initially presented to a Medical Research Council biophysics committee during their visit to King's College in December 1952. These calculations firmly established a repeat distance of 34 Angstrom and revealed the structure's C2 symmetry. This discovery was crucial for Crick since it immediately indicated the presence of an equal number of parallel and anti-parallel strands moving in opposite directions within the DNA helix. These scientists' coordinated efforts and information exchange were critical in defining our understanding of DNA's complicated design.

Rosalind Franklin's choice to go to Birkbeck College led to the partition of DNA work between different universities at a critical juncture in the race to discover the structure of DNA. Despite Randall's insistence that all DNA research be conducted at King's College, Raymond Gosling transmitted Franklin's diffraction photos to Maurice Wilkins. By February 28, 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick believed they had made a breakthrough in understanding the structure of DNA, prompting Crick to boldly declare in a nearby bar that they had "found the secret of life." Recognizing the requirement for completeness and assurance, they recognized the need to finalize their model. The close match with experimental data collected from King's College was critical in validating their hypothesized structure, emphasizing the need for collaboration in unraveling the secrets of DNA.

Conclusion

In summary, Rosalind Franklin was a talented chemist and X-ray crystallographer who made substantial advances to our knowledge of molecular structures, especially in the areas of RNA, viruses, coal, DNA, and graphite. She played a critical part in the identification of the DNA structure, although her contributions were not entirely acknowledged at the time of her death. Franklin's scientific career was impacted by her upbringing, Cambridge education, and influential research conducted in Paris and then at King's College London. Her particular work, which included producing Photo 51, provided crucial information for comprehending the double helix structure of DNA.