![]() In the third of a series of articles highlighting female role models in medicine, we look at the challenges Franklin faced throughout her life and career. Is this perception of a “downtrodden” female scientist accurate? Franklin may well have been treated unfavorably by some of her peers, but she did not let this interfere with her research – a quality that has made her an inspiration to male and female scientists alike. ![]() “Sympathy and feminism have combined to give us her familiar image as a downtrodden woman scientist, brilliant but neglected, a heroine to inspire a new generation of scientific girls,” Franklin’s sister Jenifer Glynn wrote in 2012. Since her death, Franklin’s contribution to the discovery of the double helix has gained widespread recognition. However, it was researchers James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 – 4 years after Franklin’s death – for uncovering the structure of DNA, having used Franklin’s work to help them reach their findings. This included “ photo 51” – the famous X-ray image of a crystallized DNA fiber that provided vital clues to the helical structure of DNA. Her most famous work is that which aided the discovery of the double helix. Though her life was short-lived, her contributions to science were not. Image credit: National Library of Medicineįranklin died from ovarian cancer in 1958, aged just 37. Share on Pinterest X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin, pictured in 1956. ![]()
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