Dr. Rosalind Franklin

Dr. Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant scientist who played a crucial role in uncovering the structure of DNA. Despite facing challenges, her groundbreaking X-ray images provided key insights that paved the way for the famous double helix model, forever changing our understanding of genetics. Her legacy continues to inspire future generations of scientists around the world. We honor her with this list of words from an article written by Emily Anthes. Read the full text here.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. double helix
    the dual-stranded molecular structure of nucleic acids such as DNA
    On April 25, 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published a landmark paper in Nature, proposing the double helix as the long elusive structure of DNA, a discovery that a decade later earned the men the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In the final paragraph of the paper, they acknowledged that they had been “stimulated by a knowledge of the general nature of the unpublished experimental results and ideas” of two scientists at King’s College London, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin.
  2. DNA
    material that carries genetic information in a cell
    On April 25, 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published a landmark paper in Nature, proposing the double helix as the long elusive structure of DNA, a discovery that a decade later earned the men the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In the final paragraph of the paper, they acknowledged that they had been “stimulated by a knowledge of the general nature of the unpublished experimental results and ideas” of two scientists at King’s College London, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin.
  3. experimental
    relating to or based on a trial
    On April 25, 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published a landmark paper in Nature, proposing the double helix as the long elusive structure of DNA, a discovery that a decade later earned the men the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In the final paragraph of the paper, they acknowledged that they had been “stimulated by a knowledge of the general nature of the unpublished experimental results and ideas” of two scientists at King’s College London, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin.
  4. parable
    a short moral story
    This account became a parable of poor scientific behavior, leading to a backlash against Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick and turning Dr. Franklin into a feminist icon.
  5. backlash
    an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence
    This account became a parable of poor scientific behavior, leading to a backlash against Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick and turning Dr. Franklin into a feminist icon.
  6. feminist
    of or relating to or advocating equal rights for women
    This account became a parable of poor scientific behavior, leading to a backlash against Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick and turning Dr. Franklin into a feminist icon.
  7. icon
    someone famous who is adored and idolized
    This account became a parable of poor scientific behavior, leading to a backlash against Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick and turning Dr. Franklin into a feminist icon.
  8. transpire
    come about, happen, or occur
    In a new opinion essay, published in Nature on Tuesday, two scholars argue that what transpired “was less malicious than is widely assumed.”
  9. collaborate
    work together on a common enterprise or project
    These documents, they say, suggest that Dr. Franklin knew that Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick had access to her data and that she and Dr. Wilkins collaborated with them.
  10. narrative
    an account that tells the particulars of an act or event
    Other experts said that the new documents were interesting but did not radically change the narrative; it has long been clear that Dr. Franklin played a key role in the discovery.
  11. evidence
    means by which an alleged matter is established or disproved
    “What this does is add a little new evidence to a trail, which leads directly to Franklin’s being a major participant,” said David Oshinsky, a historian of medicine at New York University.
  12. recognition
    the state or quality of being acknowledged
    And regardless of what Dr. Franklin knew about who had access to her data, the new documents do not change the fact that she did not receive adequate recognition for her work, some historians said.
  13. aftermath
    the outcome of an event
    “What is unequal and has always been unequal and is still unequal about Rosalind Franklin is the credit that she didn’t get in the aftermath of the discovery,” said Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, a hematologist and historian of medicine at Queen’s University, in Canada.
  14. x-ray
    an image made by exposing something to radiation
    At nearby Kings College London, Dr. Franklin and Dr. Wilkins were trying to solve the same puzzle experimentally, using X-rays to create images of DNA.
  15. breakthrough
    the act of making an important discovery
    In “The Double Helix,” Dr. Watson suggested that his breakthrough came after Dr. Wilkins showed him one of Dr. Franklin’s images, known as Photograph 51.
  16. molecular
    relating to the simplest units of an element or compound
    In December 1952, Dr. Crick’s supervisor, the molecular biologist Max Perutz, received a report on Dr. Franklin’s unpublished results during an official visit to King’s College.
  17. biologist
    a scientist who studies living organisms
    In December 1952, Dr. Crick’s supervisor, the molecular biologist Max Perutz, received a report on Dr. Franklin’s unpublished results during an official visit to King’s College.
  18. imply
    express or state indirectly
    This data proved more useful to the pair than Photograph 51, said Dr. Cobb and Dr. Comfort, who found a letter that implies Dr. Franklin knew her results had made their way to Cambridge.
  19. confer
    have a meeting in order to talk something over
    The draft characterized the research not as a race but as the product of two teams that were working in parallel and occasionally conferring with each other.
  20. confidential
    given in secret
    But Dr. Perutz’s sharing of Dr. Franklin’s unpublished data is “slightly iffy,” she said. (In 1969, Dr. Perutz wrote that the report was not confidential but that he should have asked for permission to share it “as a matter of courtesy.”)
  21. courtesy
    a considerate and respectful manner
    But Dr. Perutz’s sharing of Dr. Franklin’s unpublished data is “slightly iffy,” she said. (In 1969, Dr. Perutz wrote that the report was not confidential but that he should have asked for permission to share it “as a matter of courtesy.”)
  22. exonerate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
    Dr. Comfort said that he and Dr. Cobb were not “trying to exonerate” Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick, whom he said were “slow to fully acknowledge” Dr. Franklin’s contribution.
  23. contribution
    the part played by a person in bringing about a result
    Dr. Comfort said that he and Dr. Cobb were not “trying to exonerate” Dr. Watson and Dr. Crick, whom he said were “slow to fully acknowledge” Dr. Franklin’s contribution.
  24. aggrieve
    cause to feel distress
    There is no evidence that Dr. Franklin felt aggrieved by what happened, historians said, and she became friendly with the Cambridge duo in the final years of her brief life.
  25. appalling
    causing shock, dismay, or horror
    “‘The Double Helix’ is just appalling,” Dr. Garman said. “It gives a very, very slanted view, and doesn’t give her the credit for the bits that they even used from her.”
Created on Sat Mar 23 16:14:31 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Apr 25 14:23:07 EDT 2024)

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