In the novel called A short history of everything by Bill Bryson; every page is a revelation !
Before that; Do you know who is Rosalind Franklin?
Not knowing is a flaw in our MALE DNA!
We will come to that!
So the book is the interpretation of history by Bill who is not a scientist by a long stretch but then that is the best thing! He dumbs it down so much and makes it so interesting!
Every page makes us see an invention or discovery in a new light!
Even the famous inventions and discoveries we know are thrown out when the truth is revealed!
It is like in every GK quiz we have a ready answer for every discovery but now we know that it just cant be that simple! You cannot link one person to an invention since it is a combined effort!
Be it light bulb and Edison or Steam Engine and Watson! Though both are correct answers in your average quiz! Even I have confidently shouted these answers at so many quiz rounds! The actual answer is a group and series of invention leading to the final one!
You get the drift!
So let us come to Rosalind Franklin!
Everyone knows about Watson and Crick who DISCOVERED the structure of the DNA! With the Nobel prize around the corner, there is increased buzz over this!
But you will be shocked to know that the SHAPE was first seen and mentioned by Rosalind Franklin!
Rosalind Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer at King’s College London.
She captured “Photo 51,” an exceptionally clear X-ray diffraction image of DNA that revealed its helical shape!
But apparently she was very secretive and did not SHARE her images with anyone which was understandable since those were the times (many places it still is…); where women scientists were not shown much respect or concern!
So anyway her colleague, Maurice Wilkins, showed this crucial unpublished image and her data to James Watson and Francis Crick without her knowledge or permission.
Long story short; Watson and Crick used her data to build their famous double-helix model, publishing their findings and winning the 1962 Nobel Prize with Wilkins!
What happened to Rosalind Franklin your MALE DNA may ask!?
Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958 at age 37 and was omitted from the Nobel Prize because the award is not given posthumously; at least that was the reason stated by the very NOBLE NOBEL committee!
Of course this does not diminish the work done by others, but still whenever the structure of DNA comes into discussion do say a few words about the one who started it all! Rosalind Franklin!
Those many quiet achievers who actually do a lot but are either not credited or simply ignored or forgotten or their credit is stolen by others! Like the amazing talent of Sanjay Mishra!
Now use your natural talent to sleep!
Shubh ratri!
