Behind the Double Helix: The Complicated Life of Rosalind Franklin

Roberto Arrigoni; Rosa Porro; Mario Dioguardi; Filiberto Mastrangelo; Angela Pia Cazzolla; Francesca Castellaneta; Ioannis Alexandros Charitos; Stefania Cantore; Michele Covelli

doi:10.3889/oamjms.2022.10705

Authors

Roberto Arrigoni CNR Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, Bari, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5361-4346
Rosa Porro Department of Informatics, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy
Mario Dioguardi Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Università Degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia, Italy
Filiberto Mastrangelo Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Università Degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3746-5675
Angela Pia Cazzolla Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Università Degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0842-7351
Francesca Castellaneta Independent Researcher “Sorriso & Benessere, Ricerca e Clinica”, Bari, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4555-5520
Ioannis Alexandros Charitos School of Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3527-7483
Stefania Cantore Department of Emergency and Urgency, National Poisoning Centre, Riuniti University Hospital of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
Michele Covelli Interuniversity Research Center “Population, Environment and Heath”-CIRPAS, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2022.10705

Keywords:

Rosalind Franklin, Women in science, DNA structure, Biological molecules cristallography, precision medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rosalind Franklin was a British scientist in the 1950s, that in her short career covered a lot of important scientific topics, ranging from coal structure porosity, to biological molecules cristallography, and finally to viruses structure definition.

AIM: This article aimed to underline the important role that she had for the elucidation of the DNA structure, and to reiterate the difficulties, she had to face – prominently as a woman – to be fully accepted in the world of scientific research.

METHODS: An historical research was conducted and summarized, regarding the life of Rosalind Franklin.

RESULTS: This myth overshadowed her intellectual strength and independence both as a scientist and as an individual.

CONCLUSION: As one of the twentieth century’s pre-eminent scientists, Franklin’s work has benefited all of humanity. The 100th anniversary of her birth in 2020 was prompting much reflection on her career and research contributions, not least Franklin’s catalytic role in unraveling the structure of DNA Franklin’s premature death, combined with misogynist treatment by the male scientific establishment, cast her as a feminist icon.

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References

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