Page 5 - Science Focus (issue 15)

Franklin had gone through a lot of difficulties that
were not only confined to science but also due to the “We have also been stimulated by a knowledge
conflict between her and her senior colleague, Maurice
Wilkins. Suspiciously, Wilkins showed Photo 51 to Watson of the general nature of the unpublished
and Crick without Franklin's knowledge. Together with experimental results and ideas of
other Franklin’s unpublished data obtained from Max Dr. M. H. F. Wilkins, Dr. R. E. Franklin and their
Perutz, Crick’s PhD thesis advisor, without Franklin’s
knowledge, Watson and Crick came up with the co-workers at King’s College, London.” – The
similar conclusion as Franklin. This led to the concurrent acknowledgment which is considered as an
publication of their articles in the journal Nature, where understatement extracted from Watson and
Franklin’s article was placed last, giving a misconception
that her experiments were just a verification of Watson Crick’s 1953 Nature paper [4].
and Crick’s discovery. According to Watson’s book,
The Double Helix, published in 1968, Watson admitted
that their model was greatly inspired by Franklin’s
unpublished data. Without Franklin’s key data, they might If the Nobel Prize could be awarded posthumously,
have proposed a wrong structure with bases pointing Franklin would probably be recognized with the same
outwards [1]. However, not only didn’t they acknowledge level of honor as Watson and Crick. It is time to spread
Franklin’s contribution clearly and adequately in their the hidden story of an intelligent brave woman who
journal articles published in 1953, but they also didn’t provided crucial clues for the double helix model. It is
acknowledge Franklin’s contributions in the 1962 Nobel time to honor Rosalind Elsie Franklin, the unsung mother
Prize ceremony [1]. of the double helix.

School）中有著出色的學業成績，特別是在科學方面，而聖保羅女 個鹼基指向外面的錯誤結構 [1]。不過，他們不僅沒有在 1953 年發
子學校是當時少數向女孩教授物理和化學的學校之一。後來，她獲 表的期刊文章中清楚明確和充足地指出和承認 Franklin 的貢獻，
取了一筆獎學金，使她可以在 1938 年到劍橋大學修讀化學，更於 也沒有在 1962 年諾貝爾獎頒獎典禮上感謝 Franklin 的貢獻 [1]。
1945 年取得博士學位。其後，她移居到巴黎，並有機會於國家化
學實驗室學習當時最先進的 X 射線繞射技術（X-ray diffraction 「我們亦受到了 M. H. F. Wilkins 博士，
technology）。這項技術對其後取得的著名 X 射線影像 —「第 51 R. E. Franklin 博士和倫敦國王學院研究人員的一些未
號照片」至關重要，而正正就是因為這張照片，令科學家得以發現
公開發表的實驗結果和想法所啟發。」 ─ 這一段
DNA 的結構。Franklin 花費了不少心力和時間才能獲得這個圖像
以及相關的計算結果 [1]。 取自 Watson 和 Crick 在 1953 年發佈於
《自然》雜誌論文上的引文，普遍被認為是對於
Franklin 經歷了許多困難，她面對的困難不只局限於科學
上，還有與其上級同事 Maurice Wilkins 之間的矛盾。可疑的是， Franklin 的貢獻過於輕描淡寫[4]。
Wilkins 在沒有通知 Franklin 的情況下向 Watson 和 Crick 展示了
「第 51 號照片」。除此之外，Watson 和 Crick 同樣亦在 Franklin 如果諾貝爾獎可以在得獎人死後追頒，那麼 Franklin 大概會
不知情的情況下從 Crick 的博士論文指導老師 Max Perutz 中，取 得到與 Watson 和 Crick 齊名的認可和榮耀。該是時候把這位聰
得 Franklin 其他未公開的數據，從而得出與 Franklin 相類似的結 明又勇敢的女科學家的隱藏故事傳揚開去，是時候表彰為雙螺旋
論。這導致他們的文章同時間刊登於《自然》（ Nature）雜誌，但 模型提供了重要線索的「雙螺旋的無名母親」— Rosalind Elsie
基於 Franklin 的文章被編排在 Watson 和 Crick 之後，容易使人 Franklin。
誤解為她的實驗結果只是為了驗證 Watson 和 Crick 的發現。在
1
Watson 於1968 年出版的《雙螺旋》（ The Double Helix）一書中， 編按：在香港的教科書中，他們被譯作
華生（Watson）和克拉克（Crick）。
Watson 承認他們當時提出的模型其實深受 Franklin 未發表的數
據所啟發：如果沒有 Franklin 決定性的數據，他們便有可能提出一

DNA 結構的無名英雄 References 參考資料：

[1] Elkin, L. O. (2003). Rosalind Franklin and the double helix. Physics Today, 56(3),
The Hidden Figure of DNA Structure: [2] Smith, K. N. (2018, April 16). Rosalind Franklin Died 60 Years Ago Today Without
42-48.
The Nobel Prize She Deserved. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/
ROSALIND FRANKLIN [3] Rosalind Franklin: A Crucial Contribution. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.
kionasmith/2018/04/16/rosalind-franklin-died-60-years-ago-today-without-the-
nobel-prize-she-deserved/#61f35c879e77
nature.com/scitable/topicpage/rosalind-franklin-a-crucial-contribution-6538012
[4] Watson, J. D., & Crick, F. H. C. (1953). MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF NUCLEIC ACIDS.
Nature, 422(6934), 737-741.
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