Good morning. It's Tuesday, July 22, and today we're covering Rosalind Franklin. In honor of what would have been her 105th birthday this week, we wanted to explore the life of the scientist who made discovering DNA's structure possible but whom history nearly erased.
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Thank you for taking the time!
—Marco Machado, 1440 Science and Technology Editor
Editor's note: In last week's newsletter, we wrote that microplastics were defined as ranging from 1 to 5 millimeters in size. We meant to write 0.001 to 5 millimeters. Thanks to readers for flagging the error! |
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Background
Rosalind Franklin was a chemist and X-ray crystallographer who researched the structure of carbon compounds, DNA, and viruses.
Although her obituary recognized her primarily as a virus researcher when she died in 1958, she is best known today for Photo 51, an X-ray diffraction image of DNA (read about the photo here).
The photo has become associated with her then-unrecognized contributions to the Nobel Prize-winning model for DNA’s structure, for which she has been called the “dark lady of DNA.”
Early Life and Education
Born in London in 1920, Franklin thrived academically from an early age, particularly in mathematics, science, and languages, studying Latin, German, French, and Hebrew. By 16, her mother described her as someone who “all her life knew exactly where she was going and took science for her subject.”
She enrolled at Newnham College—one of two schools for women at Cambridge University—majoring in physical chemistry. During her studies, Franklin volunteered as an air raid warden, acting as a first responder and enforcing public safety during the Blitz of World War II. Learn about other women in the role here.
After earning her bachelor’s degree, Franklin entered a graduate research program but clashed with her adviser upon discovering an error in the project assigned to her. He would later say he disapproved of her “raising the status of her sex to equality with men.”
Upon resigning, Franklin joined the British Coal Utilisation Research Association to study the structure of carbon atoms within coal. This research was critical to improving its effectiveness as an energy source and gas mask filtration during the war (read about it here).
Her work earned her a PhD from Cambridge in 1945.
Carbon and DNA Crystallography
At Newnham College, Franklin befriended Adrienne Weill, a French refugee and student of Marie Curie. Weill helped her land a lab position in Paris, where she learned X-ray crystallography—the science of determining the atomic structure of matter by observing how X-rays diffract or deflect off materials (watch explainer).
For four years, she explored how structures of carbon compounds change when heated, identifying which turn into graphite and could be used in the manufacturing of heat-resistant objects, like crucibles (learn more about graphite).
In 1951, Franklin began a fellowship at King’s College London to uncover DNA’s structure. By refining existing lab equipment and building her own, including a humidity-controlling camera, she took images with unprecedented accuracy (see a 3D model of her setup here).
Among her discoveries, Franklin determined the molecular spacing between DNA’s building blocks and found that the spacing changed with moisture content. This explained why prior DNA imaging was blurry and challenging to analyze: Scientists had been viewing mixtures of DNA with inconsistent spacing, not realizing they were effectively trying to resolve superimposed images.
During this time, two Cambridge scientists—James Watson and Francis Crick—were building DNA models from cardboard. They struggled to reverse-engineer a fit to available data, but made a breakthrough by incorporating Franklin’s unpublished findings (watch explainer).
Together with Maurice Wilkins, who worked on DNA’s structure before Franklin arrived at King’s, they won the Nobel Prize for their model in 1962.
Virus Structures
Franklin’s appointment to take over Wilkins’ project made King’s a challenging environment, and she left for Birkbeck College before her fellowship ended.
She would study plant virus structures, including the tobacco mosaic virus, for which she was invited to build a model for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair.
A day before the model’s unveiling and amid preparations to study the polio virus next, Franklin died of ovarian cancer, never knowing her work contributed to the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (learn more). |
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Explore Rosalind Franklin |
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Watson and Crick revealed DNA’s structure using others’ key findings |
Their 1953 model, made from cardboard cutouts, explained how DNA stores genetic information through base pairing. Rather than experimenting and collecting their own data, they incorporated patterns and data from other scientists through trial and error. Learn more here. |
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Watson's book was described as misleading when detailing Franklin's role |
Despite working together to win the Nobel Prize for their discovery of the structure of DNA, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins objected to the publication of James Watson's account of DNA's discovery. In this documentary, those who worked with Franklin and Watson provide their accounts of these two scientists. Watch it here. |
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Nature simultaneously published three DNA papers—only one made history |
Papers by Watson and Crick, Wilkins, and Franklin were fast-tracked without peer review, and their order was arranged between lab heads and editors. Franklin's appeared last, leaving it forgotten behind Watson, Crick, and Wilkins. Listen to the story behind the publication of these papers here. |
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Watch a crystal undergo X-ray diffraction to determine its internal geometry |
In the early days of X-ray crystallography, getting photos of a single sample could take dozens of hours, followed by months of mathematical analysis. Today, automation and computer software can complete such tasks in a few hours. Watch how this is accomplished here. |
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The structure of DNA helices comes in three major families |
Despite DNA's structure being synonymous with a thin double helix known as B-DNA, this form is not commonly found in living organisms. DNA's form depends on environmental conditions, like ion concentration and humidity, which Rosalind Franklin determined. Learn about A-, B-, and Z-DNA here. |
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Beyond DNA, Franklin's legacy extends into virology and steel production |
While remembered for her critical but under-credited role in uncovering parameters for the structure of DNA, Rosalind Franklin made significant contributions across coal chemistry and virus structure. Her research helped improve fuel efficiency, wartime protective equipment, and foundational knowledge in molecular biology. Learn more here. |
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Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.
> The science fair of canceled research
Ars Technica | John Timmer. Capitol Hill hosted an event called "The Things We'll Never Know" to bring awareness to defunded projects across science research, outreach, and education. This article highlights several of them, including a multi-university program designed to help deaf students navigate STEM careers. (Read)
> Scientists have identified the culprit behind record die-offs in US honeybees
The Guardian | Phoebe Watson. Last winter, commercial beekeepers reported losing an average of more than 60% of their colonies, prompting the US Department of Agriculture to bring in bee experts to find the cause. Learn how pesticide-resistant, virus-carrying parasitic mites exacerbated existing colony stressors. (Read)
> What does science say about whether Rainmaker caused the Texas floods?
Washington Post | Will Oremus and Nicolás Rivero. After historic floods killed more than 100 people, online content from influencers, media personalities, and elected officials pointed to a local weather modification company as the cause. This piece explores the science of cloud seeding and the claims against Rainmaker. (Read)
> Explaining Grok, the AI chatbot from Elon Musk's xAI company
Business Insider | Staff. Days after it apologized for the chatbot's antisemitic comments, xAI secured a $200M contract for the Pentagon to begin using "Grok for Government." This explainer details what Grok is, what makes its outputs unique, and how the chatbot was trained to be "politically incorrect." (Read)
> Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Windows 95
Fast Company | Jared Newman. Motivated by Apple to make their operating system more approachable, Microsoft had designers directly involved in how Windows 95 looked and worked. Those on the user interface team provide accounts of working on it and how technological advancements helped make it stand out. (Read)
> Move over, Wi-Fi! Scientists improve wireless power technology
IEEE Spectrum | Meghie Rodrigues. Using a laser-based system, researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency successfully transmitted energy to a receiver over 5 miles away. This article explores the work of POWER, the program designed to create a near-instantaneous wireless energy system. (Read) |
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After His $120M Exit, This Time’s Different |
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Austin Allison knows how to disrupt real estate with tech. Zillow bought his first venture for $120M. But he had one nagging regret.
"I always wished everyday people could have invested and shared in our success," Allison later said. So he fixed that with Pacaso, his new venture disrupting a $1.3T market. They have $110M+ in gross profit to date, with 41% YoY growth in 2024. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO. And unlike his previous venture, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company.* |
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New in 1440 Science & Technology |
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With curiosity leading the way, our team went out looking for wonders, oddities, and insights in the natural and tech worlds. Here's what we discovered.
—Marco Machado, 1440 Science and Technology Editor
> Who decides which groups of stars become constellations?
> How helicopters in the desert create halos of light.
> A breakdown of what we get from a barrel of crude oil.
> Find out what happens to sewage on a cruise ship.
> Listen to a dermatologist explain the science of sunscreen.
> Why it's so difficult to recycle plastic.
> Understanding why urban environments become heat islands.
> Now that you can keep your shoes on through airport security, are liquids next?
> The differences between stress and anxiety.
> Learn how plants move water against gravity.
Thank you to Pat C. and Susan M. for inspiring us with their questions! If you have any involving science and technology and would like them answered, tell us here. |
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"Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated." |
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