Friday, February 15, 2019
The Double Helix Video
This seminar features the video The Double Helix available for previewing at the following URL: https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/double-helix. Let's hear your thoughts on this seminal discovery that not just set the course for the future of science, but how it has significantly impacted current society.
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The double helix structure of DNA is one of the greatest discoveries in science. We can all attest to alot more discoveries this has led to. Aside "stealing" Rosalind's data and leaving her name out of the noble prize, I think Watson and Crick showed dedication and patience to their research, something we the upcoming scientists should not forget about.
ReplyDeleteThe discussion on this video gave me an insight on working as a woman in science. We are now in an era where women are given almost the same opportunities as men and so we should be able to voice out our opinions, collaborate with other scientists and get more involved in scientific discussion instead of always talking about babies with our fellow female colleagues(not a bad thing though).
I always enjoy watching this video but was happier with the wonderful discussion that followed.
I enjoyed watching the double helix video and the interesting discussion afterwards.A new era in science was born since the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Watson and Crick. It solved many puzzles and inspired many scientific research too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thywill, Rosalind's incident was an eye-opener to the inequalities in the research world. But thanks to her, now women are given almost the same opportunities as men. We should all strive to collaborate as scientists, put in dedication and patience in our research. This era favors the girl child, women should fully embrace the opportunities that come by and make the best of it. We should voice our arguments scholarly and defend our thesis with documentations. Also we should ask for help sometime as Dr. Fagan puts it and be entitled to the choices we make on how to live our lives.
The double helix video gave us the story of how the structure of DNA was discovered and a lot of the details that sometimes can be left out when discovering something so important. The discussion following us viewing the video allowed all of us to discuss how far science has advanced in more than one category.
ReplyDeleteAs a female studying science, we have truly come very far and we have so much to be proud of and grateful for. We can do so much more than the female scientists could during those times and as Dr. Fagan had said we can ask for help if we need to as well as voice our own opinions without feeling afraid. I think Rosalind's approach for the discovery of the double helix could have been handled differently but her colleagues could have handled the situation better as well. If they decided from the beginning to work together they could have possibly made the discovery much faster and without as much controversy following the discovery.
Beyond the educational value of the double helix video, it gave an interesting perspective of life in academia in the 1950s. Looking at the pictures of the graduate classes in the video, it was not surprising to see that most (if not all) the individuals standing in the photograph were white men. It's safe to assume that most of the white men attending this prestigious institution of higher learning during that era were also men of privilage. A snapshot of today's graduate class here at Youngstown State University would show a very different picture; one of diversity among race, sex, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is a privilege to be where we are today in equality in society and science. A privilege that was hard earned by both strong women and men. As time moves forwrd, I hope we never lose out progress, but also never forget our origin.
ReplyDeleteNot only was the scientific information regarding the discovery of the double helix interesting, I also found the historical aspect of the video highly important to modern society. It has shown how the diversity in academia has grown since the 1950s. As Anna stated, most of the individuals in the graduating classes were white men. Today, that picture is very different.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, the video has also shown how a woman's role has changed. As female scientists have the ability to be more active in the scientific process and are recognized for the work that they put into it. Personally, I think Rosalind could have handled her situation differently and that if the men had been more open to her work and her opinions the discovery could have been made faster and with less personal issues among scientists.
I think that the video was interesting in how it displayed the way the scientific community acted at the time and how information between research institutions was shared. The video suggested that finding DNA's structure was like a puzzle, and with the data collected from Avery, Chargaff, Wilkins, and of course Franklin's photo 51, Watson and Crick had just enough information to create their model.
ReplyDeleteI think that Franklin's attitude was off-putting to a lot of the men she worked with, in large part because of her gender, and because of their own egos. Even today I think this discrimination is present even as more women are entering STEM fields. Currently some STEM fields, such as biology, are becoming more diverse, where as others such as engineering are still male-dominated. I think as these fields become more diverse, it will encourage more minorities choose these professions, which can bring great new ideas. The comment about patience and dedication is a great point, sometimes when facing negative results, we should try to learn from them.
I agree with Thywill and I also enjoy Anna's attention to detail regarding the demographics of the pictures from the video. Science has evolved so much since the Watson and Crick era. Had Watson and Crick lived in a different time, I believe that they most likely would've given Franklin some credit. Franklin did not handle the situation as well as she could have. Although, her actions or lack there of, are definitely understandable due to the time period. I like that the video highlights the failure inevitably associated with an incredible scientific discovery. There was competition as well as an urgency to figure it out quicker than the others. An important factor of science is persistence. Watson and Crick, despite being embarrassed, continued to consider the structure of DNA. As scientists, we know our process involves multiple attempts, failures and adjustments to solve the problem(s) or question(s) being raised. I enjoy that this video directly exemplifies the ups and down of making scientific advancements.
ReplyDeleteHello all! I really enjoyed the video that we watched last seminar. As Nathan said, I think it gave a great understanding of the scientific community and their interactions at this time period. When I first learned about Watson and Crick, I had only heard the cherry-picked details that made them seem like they were alone in solving the structure of DNA. Unfortunately, I didn't know the significance of Franklin's research until I was in college. These types of situations are always upsetting to hear about, which is why I also enjoyed the discussion lead by Dr. Fagan and Dr. Walker afterwards
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