Rosalind Franklin

Mackenzie Atcheson & Ebony Adams

Rosalind Franklin was asked to set up a DNA laboratory using X-ray technology.

Rosalind Franklin was best well known for her X-ray diffraction images of DNA.

Her images led into the discovery of the double helix of DNA.

Steps She Used

She first purified large amounts of DNA

Then she stretched DNA fibers in a thin glass so that all the strands were parallel

Then she aimed a high power x-ray beam at the concentrated DNA

Finally she recorded the pattern on film.

She used X-Ray crystallography to study the DNA structure.

X-ray crystallography is when atoms are mapped by looking at the image of the crystal under an X-ray beam.

She had the responsibility of finding the structure of DNA.

She found A and B forms of DNA

She focused more an A because it showed more X-ray spots.

Her findings were confirmed by James Watson and Francis Crick.

James Watson was showed an image of Franklins work.

This allowed Watson and Francis Crick to build a molecule the explained the specific properties and structure of DNA.

After their discovery, James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded a Nobel Prize in physiology.

Franklin could not be honored because of her death in 1958 caused by ovarian cancer.

Crystallography Photos

Websites Used

http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/biomolecules/dna/watson-crick-wilkins-franklin.aspx

http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/07/25/today-in-history-rosalind-fran/

http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/franklin.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin