Google paid tribute to noted biophysicist, Rosalind Franklin, with its Google Doodle today. Franklin is known for her work on the X-ray diffraction images of DNA which led to the discovery of the DNA double helix. The Google Doodle shows an illustration of Franklin looking at the double helical structure of DNA with an X-ray.
Rosalind Franklin, was born on July 25, 1920 in Britain. Since childhood she showed exceptional scholastic abilities and was educated at St Paul’s Girls’ School. She excelled in fields of science, Latin and sports. Later went to King’s College, Birkbeck College in London and did her PhD degree from Cambridge. Franklin died at the age of 37 in 1958 of ovarian cancer. After her death Rosalind’s work received recognition from several colleges and universities.
The discovery of DNA’s structure helped Franklin’s co-workers understand cell metabolism and genetic information which has led to significant progress in medical science. Franklin’s studies have also helped in the understanding of the molecular structures of RNA, viruses, coal and graphite. Franklin also led pioneering work in tobacco mosaic and the polio virus.
Various controversies came to light following Rosalind’s death. Franklin worked at King’s College London where she conducted her DNA research under Maurice Wilkins. She was not nominated for Nobel prize for Chemistry which was subsequently awarded in 1962 to Crick, Watson, and Wilkins, her co-workers, for their DNA study. The trio later acknowledged that they had used Franklin’s images to formulate the hypothesis regarding the structure of DNA.