• Question: Watson, Crick and Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery is this true or false?

    Asked by Gladys to Barbara, Matt, Ravinder, Sophie, Tristan on 9 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Ravinder Kanda

      Ravinder Kanda answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      It is true. But you should also check out Rosalind Franklin (google it). Without her work, Watson and Crick would never have made the discovery. Unfortunately though, she didn’t receive as much credit for her work as she should have.

    • Photo: Matthew Moore

      Matthew Moore answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      This is true and as Ravinder said it was also Rosalind Franklin’s discovery as she provided the experimental evidence for the structure of DNA. The first image of the structure of DNA has been nicknamed photo51 and was taken by a technique called x-ray crystallography, by Rosalind Franklins PhD student at the time.

      Maurice Wilkins however was the individual alongside Crick and Watson (the two best known for the discovery) who was also awarded the Nobel Prize (maximum 3 people can win the same prize in one year). Franklin actually died before the Nobel was awarded so it’s unclear whether she would have been appropriately credited for her contribution.

      At the time of discovery – which many prominent scientists including Nobel Prize winning chemist Linus Pauling were also working on – Crick and Watson shouted in the pub at lunch “we have discovered the secret of life!”. The formal publication was more modest!

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