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1. Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 25-Jul-2023 21:58:20 UTC Robert McNees

   Rosalind Franklin was born #OTD in 1920. Her X-ray diffraction work was critical for establishing the helical nature of DNA.

   Image: Vittorio Luzzati / Jewish Women’s Archive

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 25-Jul-2023 22:12:40 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     The Nobel Prize used to tweet about her every year, never missing an opportunity to point out that it wasn’t their fault, they surely would’ve given Franklin a share of the prize awarded to Watson and Crick if only she’d lived a little longer. 🙄

   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 25-Jul-2023 22:14:19 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     But here is the thing: the “rule” against posthumous Nobel Prizes was only codified in 1974, well after the Watson and Crick prize, and exclusively refers to “he.”

     Three prizes have been awarded after the recipient died, including one in 2012.

     https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/should-death-stop-the-nobel

   • Jessica 🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇦 🌶🧋 (jewishreader@sfba.social)'s status on Tuesday, 25-Jul-2023 22:20:03 UTC Jessica 🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇦 🌶🧋

     in reply to

     @mcnees One of my all-time favorite tweets was from an attendee at a science talk. The presenter asked "what did Watson and Crick discover?" And from the back of the room someone yelled
     "Rosalind Franklin's notes!"

   • La Donna (ldmay65@universeodon.com)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Jul-2023 12:57:22 UTC La Donna

     in reply to

     @mcnees Odd that Rosalind Franklin wasn't mentioned in any of my science or history classes. 🤔

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.
   • Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jul-2024 14:41:15 UTC Robert McNees

     in reply to

     The Nobel Committee argued that the (again, self-imposed!) rule allowed them to proceed with the 2012 award after an awardee passed away, since they thought he was still alive and their “mistake" was made in good faith.

     Imo, that reasoning empowers them to correct bad-faith omissions and missed opportunities of the past, of which there are many.

   • Christina Jennifer (criffer@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jul-2024 15:44:09 UTC Christina Jennifer

     in reply to

     @mcnees Shame they never came up with a rule about stealing someone else’s research.

     Rosalind Franklin should be credited for understanding the structure of DNA, not Watson & Crick.