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The Double Helix: Watson And Crick And The Forgotten Names

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The Double Helix: Watson and Crick and the Forgotten Names
James Watson and Francis Crick were at best interpreters in a time of constantly-expanding scientific knowledge. Despite seeming to have intellect and experience enough to make their own discoveries, the real credit for the discovery of the structure of DNA lies with the three scientists who made the most contributions to the work: Linus Pauling, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins. Their work in the field of DNA shed light onto the truth value of various theories that would have remained mysteries except for their accomplishments. Moreover, Watson and Crick had no qualms about stealing the work and ideas of others, nor did they have any notions of respecting their peers’ wishes, and they openly admitted to it in this text. All Watson and Crick cared about was potential glory, and the points below will outline why they are deserving of none. …show more content…

He had worked on DNA for years prior to Watson and Crick’s quest for scientific gratification. Though they may have claimed to be working towards an achievement designed to further genetic understanding, truthfully their only aim was the success and praise that would come with such a discovery. When Pauling sent his son an unpublished manuscript describing his work in DNA and his new model for the structure, they wasted no time in violating his wishes that it remain secret until its publication and immediately read it and in doing so discovered an error. Even so, after this, rather than being deflated over yet another setback, they were ecstatic, for this provided another chance to beat him to his own discovery (Watson Chapter

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Watson and Crick indubitably viewed the discovery of DNA structure as a race, whereas Franklin was more focused on her own work. Franklin did not necessarily intend to be competitive, she even said, “Does it matter who fits the final piece? We all stand on each other’s shoulders,” but her refusal to share information until she had completed her research came off as competitive. Of course, the actual model of DNA, was a collaborative product since it was made possible by expertise from many scientists other than Watson and Crick, but it was accomplished through an aggressive collecting of information. For this very reason Watson and Crick deserved the Nobel Prize; though they may not have found all the evidence for the DNA structure themselves, they put considerable effort and energy into collecting and synthesizing all the evidence, to find something that nobody else

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But Franklin persisted on the DNA project. J. D. Bernal called her X-ray photographs of DNA, "the most beautiful X-ray photographs of any substance ever taken." Between 1951 and 1953 Rosalind Franklin came very close to solving the DNA structure. She was beaten to publication by Crick and Watson in part because of the friction between Wilkins and herself. At one point, Wilkins showed Watson one of Franklin 's crystallographic portraits of DNA.

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The Race for the Double Helix is a movie about the true story of the DNA discovery. In the movie, there were many quotes said by the scientists researching. I think that a powerful quote from the movie is, “Satisfaction comes not from knowing the solution, but from knowing why it’s the solution”, from Rosalind Franklin. I think it 's important because it describes how you don 't get satisfaction from having the answer, you get satisfaction from fully understanding the answer and why it 's correct. I it can reflect on my view of science because I would want to understand what I 'm

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Rather than focusing on her mind as he does with Francis Crick, he is fixated with her appearance and lack of femininity. According to Watson, “By choice she did not emphasize her feminine qualities. Though her features were strong she was not unattractive and might have been quite stunning had she taken even a mild interest in clothes (Watson, 1998).” In the paragraph previous to the one where he goes into elaborate detail on her appearance, he professes that she is a highly skilled crystallographer that is capable of conducting expert scientific research. However, using the sarcastic nickname of Rosy, he states that she created more problems in the Wilkins lab because “she claimed that she had been given DNA for her own problem and would not think of herself as Maurice’s assistant (Watson, 1998).”

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Wilkins in a letter to Watson carries on to state that, “The DNA story is not typical of scientific discovery; for one thing it was unusually involved with personal difficulties…[It] would give many people an impression of Francis as a feather-brained hyperthyroid, me an overgentlemanly mug and you an immature exhibitionist!” (Wilkins 1966). This still remains fairly true even after a few revisions were made as Watson likes to focus on the gossip, as if it’s a story even though he claims it as an autobiography. In another letter to Watson on a different revised version, Crick defends Rosalind’s efforts and Wilkins’ disapproval of his depictions by stating, “…The tone used to describe Rosalind’s work in the Epilogue is perfectly reasonable, but contrasts ludicrously with the descriptions of her in the text itself” (Crick 1967). This further illuminates the controversial aspect of Watson’s intention with The Double Helix.

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