Original: ‘Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins co-discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.’ Rewrite: ‘Rosalind Franklin successfully retrieved images of the structure of DNA, an idea posited by Maurice Wilkins. Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins got a Nobel Prize.’ - ThreadSky

bossproofreader.bsky.social • 106 days ago

Original: ‘Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins co-discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.’

Rewrite: ‘Rosalind Franklin successfully retrieved images of the structure of DNA, an idea posited by Maurice Wilkins.
Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins got a Nobel Prize.’

Comments

adsquires.bsky.social•106 days ago

Where was that original from? I don't know anyone who would describe it in those terms. Franklin is far better known than Wilkins.

bossproofreader.bsky.social•106 days ago

In a paper I’m editing.

adsquires.bsky.social•105 days ago

Omg. Thank God it got to an editor before being published like that!

podgyfingers.bsky.social•106 days ago

Unfortunately she lived in a very different age where female academics and scientists were seen but never heard. Glass ceilings still in abundance but times slowly changing.

adsquires.bsky.social•106 days ago

Yes - it's very sad. In her own field (X-ray crystallography) women scientists were leading in other institutions (eg Dorothy Hodgkin in Oxford) but the culture at Kings seemed particularly backward at the time.

bossproofreader.bsky.social•106 days ago

Glacially.

sadakojones.bsky.social•105 days ago

Crediting Rosalind Franklin for discovering DNA is like crediting a brick layer for St Paul's Cathedral

yc99.bsky.social•103 days ago

i'm gonna argue that she sort of deserves the most credit for that discovery

not only did she facilitate the discovery of photo 51 through her x-ray crystallography, but she was also even able to distinguish the A and B forms

yc99.bsky.social•103 days ago

even more recent evidence says she (and wilkins) actively collaborated with crick and watson to deduce the structure, and it kinda sucks that watson's treatment of her was very cartoonish

yc99.bsky.social•103 days ago

and watson's statements in recent years have not made his reputation any better

timrpbrown.bsky.social•106 days ago

She was sadly also dead and Nobel prizes are not given posthumously. Nonetheless her central contribution was badly overlooked

adsquires.bsky.social•106 days ago

When and by whom was her contribution overlooked? At the time, her Nature paper with the X-ray diffraction data was coordinated to be published back to back with theirs, with the model. Theirs cited her work. 1/

adsquires.bsky.social•106 days ago

For decades she's been the best known of the four. More people know her first name than Crick or Watson, and hardly anyone has heard of Wilkins.

Lise Meitner is a much better example of an overlooked female scientist imo.

bossproofreader.bsky.social•106 days ago

And prizes aren’t given to four.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply