Dark Lady Of DNA: Rosalind Franklin.

On 25th July 1920, a girl child was born in the family of Mr. Ellis Arthur Franklin and Mrs. Muriel Frances Waley situated at Notting Hill, London. She was named Rosalind. Her Elder brother was David and Colin, Roland, and Jenifer were born after her.

Rosalind attended Norland Place School at the age of six and was immersed in solving arithmetic problems with great delight every day. At the age of nine, she was admitted to a boarding school for young ladies in Sussex called “Lindores School for Young Ladies”.

Her keen interest in science developed when she joined “St. Paul’s Girl’s School” in Hammersmith, west London. Her performance in science, Latin, and sports was remarkable. She was multilingual knowing English, French, and German. 1938 she passed matriculation with distinction.

She acquired her bachelor's degree from Newnham College, Cambridge in 1941.

Her changing location for research work is as follows:

• Newnham College: A research fellowship.

Mentor: Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

• British Coal Utilization Research Association (BCURA) in 1942: An Assistant Research Officer.

Her Research Work included:

• Study: “The porosity of coal using helium to determine its density.”
• Discovered: “The relationship between the fine constrictions in the pores of coals and the permeability of the porous space. “
• Conclusion: “That substances were expelled in order of molecular size as temperature increased, she helped classify coals and accurately predict their performance for fuel purposes and production of wartime devices such as gas masks.”
• “This work was the basis of Franklin’s PhD thesis The Physical Chemistry of solid organic colloids with special reference to coal for which the University of Cambridge awarded her a PhD in 1945. It was also the basis of several papers.”

Rosalind and X-Ray:

After acquiring PhD in 1945, she gained a lot of knowledge about the holes in coal. Rosalind considered herself a physical chemist with little knowledge of physical chemistry but a whole lot of knowledge about coal. She started her job search and on 14th February 1947, she joined “he Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l’État in Paris” as one of the 15 researchers.

At the Laboratory she learned about X-ray diffraction and applied her learning to carbonous elements like coal. Her experiments included the observation of changes in elements when they are converted into graphite. Her experiments and results led to coining the terms “Graphitizing and non-graphitizing carbon.” She wrote several research papers. The coal work was covered in a 1993 monograph and the regularly published Chemistry and Physics of Carbon textbook.

Rosalind and DNA:

In 1951, she joined the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) biophysics unit. To work on X-ray diffraction of proteins and liquids in solution. However, she was appointed to work on DNA fibers because of new developments in the field.

Work on DNA:

DNA: Signer DNA,

Instrument: X-ray tube and micro camera.

[By use of saturated salt solutions camera chamber could be controlled for its humidity]

Result: High-quality images proving that DNA samples exist in two forms.

1] Humidity > 75%: DNA: Long and Thin: Wet

2] Dry air: DNA: Short and Fat: Crystalline

Her work was practical-based and less theory-based. She waited for the results and clicked one of the most beautiful images taken by X-Ray to date. She believed in forming a theory only after an ample amount of evidence to support the theory was discovered. She used small molecular modules to represent DNA, she believed that a fixed module cannot be designed until a proper image of DNA is discovered. “One of the most critical and overlooked moments in DNA research was how and when Franklin realized and conceded that B-DNA was a double helical molecule.” Which was brought to light after she passed away. She discovered that A-DNA and B-DNA were similar.