《A Short History of Nearly Everything》第133章

；　the　technique　perfected　by　linus　pauling。
crystallography　had　been　used　successfully　to　map　atoms　in　crystals　（hence“crystallography”）；　but　dna　molecules　were　a　much　more　finicky　proposition。　only　franklinwas　managing　to　get　good　results　from　the　process；　but　to　wilkins’s　perennial　exasperationshe　refused　to　share　her　findings。
if　franklin　was　not　warmly　forthing　with　her　findings；　she　cannot　be　altogetherblamed。　female　academics　at　king’s　in　the　1950s　were　treated　with　a　formalized　disdain　thatdazzles　modern　sensibilities　（actually　any　sensibilities）。　however　senior　or　acplished；they　were　not　allowed　into　the　college’s　senior　mon　room　but　instead　had　to　take　theirmeals　in　a　more　utilitarian　chamber　that　even　watson　conceded　was　“dingily　pokey。”　on　topof　this　she　was　being　constantly　pressed—at　times　actively　harassed—to　share　her　results　witha　trio　of　men　whose　desperation　to　get　a　peek　at　them　was　seldom　matched　by　more　engagingqualities；　like　respect。　“i’m　afraid　we　always　used　to　adopt—let’s　say　a　patronizing　attitudetoward　her；”　crick　later　recalled。　two　of　these　men　were　from　a　peting　institution　and　thethird　was　more　or　less　openly　siding　with　them。　it　should　hardly　e　as　a　surprise　that　shekept　her　results　locked　away。
that　wilkins　and　franklin　did　not　get　along　was　a　fact　that　watson　and　crick　seem　to　haveexploited　to　their　benefit。　although　crick　and　watson　were　trespassing　rather　unashamedlyon　wilkins’s　territory；　it　was　with　them　that　he　increasingly　sided—not　altogether　surprisinglysince　franklin　herself　was　beginning　to　act　in　a　decidedly　queer　way。　although　her　resultsshowed　that　dna　definitely　was　helical　in　shape；　she　insisted　to　all　that　it　was　not。　towilkins’s　presumed　dismay　and　embarrassment；　in　the　summer　of　1952　she　posted　a　mocknotice　around　the　king’s　physics　department　that　said：　“it　is　with　great　regret　that　we　have　toannounce　the　death；　on　friday　18th　july　1952　of　d。n。a。　helix。　。　。　。　it　is　hoped　that　dr。　m。h。f。
wilkins　will　speak　in　memory　of　the　late　helix。”
the　oute　of　all　this　was　that　in　january　1953；　wilkins　showed　watson　franklin’simages；　“apparently　without　her　knowledge　or　consent。”　it　would　be　an　understatement　to　callit　a　significant　help。　years　later　watson　conceded　that　it　“was　the　key　event　。　。　。　it　mobilizedus。”　armed　with　the　knowledge　of　the　dna　molecule’s　basic　shape　and　some　importantelements　of　its　dimensions；　watson　and　crick　redoubled　their　efforts。　everything　now　seemedto　go　their　way。　at　one　point　pauling　was　en　route　to　a　conference　in　england　at　which　hewould　in　all　likelihood　have　met　with　wilkins　and　learned　enough　to　correct　themisconceptions　that　had　put　him　on　the　wrong　line　of　inquiry；　but　this　was　the　mccarthy　eraand　pauling　found　himself　detained　at　idlewild　airport　in　new　york；　his　passport　confiscated；on　the　grounds　that　he　was　too　liberal　of　temperament　to　be　allowed　to　travel　abroad。　crickand　watson　also　had　the　no　less　convenient　good　fortune　that　pauling’s　son　was　working　atthe　cavendish　and　innocently　kept　them　abreast　of　any　news　of　developments　and　setbacks　athome。
still　facing　the　possibility　of　being　trumped　at　any　moment；　watson　and　crick　appliedthemselves　feverishly　to　the　problem。　it　was　known　that　dna　had　four　chemical1in　1968；　harvard　university　press　canceled　publication　of　the　double　helix　after　crick　and　wilkinsplained　about　its　characterizations；　which　the　science　historian　lisa　jardine　has　described　as　〃gratuitouslyhurtful。〃　the　descriptions　quoted　above　are　after　watson　softened　his　ments。
ponents—called　adenine；　guanine；　cytosine；　and　thiamine—and　that　these　paired　up　inparticular　ways。　by　playing　with　pieces　of　cardboard　cut　into　the　shapes　of　molecules；　watsonand　crick　were　able　to　work　out　how　the　pieces　fit　together。　from　this　they　made　a　meccano…like　model—perhaps　the　most　famous　in　modern　science—consisting　of　metal　plates　boltedtogether　in　a　spiral；　and　invited　wilkins；　franklin；　and　the　rest　of　the　world　to　have　a　look。
any　informed　person　could　see　at　once　that　they　had　solved　the　problem。　it　was　withoutquestion　a　brilliant　piece　of　detective　work；　with　or　without　the　boost　of　franklin’s　picture。
the　april　25；　1953；　edition　of　nature　carried　a　900…word　article　by　watson　and　crick　titled“a　structure　for　deoxyribose　nucleic　acid。”　acpanying　it　were　separate　articles　bywilkins　and　franklin。　it　was　an　eventful　time　in　the　world—edmund　hillary　was　just　about　toclamber　to　the　top　of　everest　while　elizabeth　ii　was　imminently　to　be　crowned　queen　ofengland—so　the　discovery　of　the　secret　of　life　was　mostly　overlooked。　it　received　a　smallmention　in　the　news　chronicle　and　was　ignored　elsewhere。
rosalind　franklin　did　not　share　in　the　nobel　prize。　she　died　of　ovarian　cancer　at　the　age　ofjust　thirty…seven　in　1958；　four　years　before　the　award　was　granted。　nobel　prizes　are　notawarded　posthumously。　the　cancer　almost　certainly　arose　as　a　result　of　chronic　overexposureto　x…rays　through　her　work　and　needn’t　have　happened。　in　her　much…praised　2002　biographyof　franklin；　brenda　maddox　noted　that　franklin　rarely　wore　a　lead　apron　and　often　steppedcarelessly　in　front　of　a　beam。　oswald　avery　never　won　a　nobel　prize　either　and　was　alsolargely　overlooked　by　posterity；　though　he　did　at　least　have　the　satisfaction　of　living　just　longenough　to　see　his　findings　vindicated。　he　died　in　1955。
watson　and　crick’s　discovery　wasn’t　actually　confirmed　until　the　1980s。　as　crick　said　inone　of　his　books：　“it　took　over　twenty…five　years　for　our　model　of　dna　to　go　from　being　onlyrather　plausible；　to　being　very　plausible　。　。　。　and　from　there　to　being　virtually　certainlycorrect。”
even　so；　with　the　structure　of　dna　understood　progress　in　genetics　was　swift；　and　by　1968the　journal　science　could　run　an　article　titled　“that　was　the　molecular　biology　that　was；”
suggesting—it　hardly　seems　possible；　but　it　is　so—that　the　work　of　genetics　was　nearly　at　anend。
in　fact；　of　course；　it　was　only　just　beginning。　even　now　there　is　a　great　deal　about　dna　thatwe　scarcely　understand；　not　least　why　so　much　of　it　doesn’t　actually　seem　to　do　anything。
ninety…seven　percent　of　your　dna　consists　of　nothing　but　long