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Remembering Rosalind Franklin: Rosalind Franklin and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA
Tanya Lee Stone
Rosalind Franklin was a remarkable chemist who captured an image that identified the double helix of DNA in the 1950's. Her Photo 51 helped two of her male colleagues to win the Nobel Prize but Rosalind did not know this ethical overstep before she died of ovarian cancer at a young age of 37. Rosalind's life as a young woman is chronicled from England to Norway and France where she had a zest for life and demonstrated her many skills and talents. If it weren't for Rosalind, we would not know the scientific secrets of life. Her main discovery is that DNA created different patterns when it is wet versus dry. In May 1952, Rosalind's X-ray diffraction images became the important Photo 51. Let us not forget Rosalind Franklin!