Secret of Photo 51 is about the scientist Rosalind Franklin and the discovery of the structure of DNA. The credit for this discovery has almost completely been given to Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins. Yet, Matthew Cobb and Nathaniel Comfort have found evidence that Franklin was an "equal player" in the process leading to the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA. The Secret of Photo 51 tries to sort out the complicated story of why Franklin was not given proper credit.
A significant part of this history involves James Watson. Watson went to Franklin's lab and suggested Franklin did not know how to interpret her own data. This created hostility between them. Watson dismissed Franklin with the name Rosy. For Watson she was just an assistant and he ignored the reality that Franklin was a brilliant scientist who created amazing X-Ray images. Watson's account of the DNA discovery story was described by Francis Crick as a "contemptible pack of damned nonsense".
As a scientist, Watson had many controversial ideas. He suggested a link between skin color and sex drive. He believed that overall women were inferior in their ability to be scientists. While Watson had served as the director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), his prejudicial views had become so extreme that CSHL revoked honorary titles that it had awarded to Watson and cut all remaining ties with him. This prejudice is indicative of why Franklin was not given equal credit (with Crick, Watson and Wilkins) for the discovery of the structure of DNA.
A significant part of this history involves James Watson. Watson went to Franklin's lab and suggested Franklin did not know how to interpret her own data. This created hostility between them. Watson dismissed Franklin with the name Rosy. For Watson she was just an assistant and he ignored the reality that Franklin was a brilliant scientist who created amazing X-Ray images. Watson's account of the DNA discovery story was described by Francis Crick as a "contemptible pack of damned nonsense".
As a scientist, Watson had many controversial ideas. He suggested a link between skin color and sex drive. He believed that overall women were inferior in their ability to be scientists. While Watson had served as the director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), his prejudicial views had become so extreme that CSHL revoked honorary titles that it had awarded to Watson and cut all remaining ties with him. This prejudice is indicative of why Franklin was not given equal credit (with Crick, Watson and Wilkins) for the discovery of the structure of DNA.