“Her [Rosalind Franklin's] photographs are among the most beautiful X-ray
photographs of any substance ever taken.” — Nature Journal
Obituary of Rosalind Franklin, Nature, 1958, 182, 154.
After watching the movie, please write a two page reflection that addresses one of these
questions. Be sure that you use appropriate APA format and cite any outside source that you
use-including the movie.
1.) Watson and Crick clearly made use of the ideas and results of other scientists’ research
in pursuing their goal, including work by Linus Pauling, Erwin Chargaff and Rosalind
Franklin. Sharing of knowledge is a foundation of scientific investigation. It has been
suggested that the use of Rosalind Franklin’s information without her permission or
knowledge was unethical on the part of Watson and Crick. Do you agree or disagree?
Was Pauling’s and Chargaff’s information also used improperly? Thoughts?
2.) Rosalind Franklin was a meticulous lab scientist who avoided any sort of speculation.
She relied on hard evidence – the factual data – before drawing any conclusions.
Watson and Crick on the other hand, did no labor-intensive research and merely
postulated a possible structure for DNA. Was Watson and Crick’s approach to solving the
problem “less scientific” than Franklin’s? Do you think there is value in scientific
speculation?