Nobel laureate Maurice Wilkins dies

2004/10/07 Carton Virto, Eider - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biografiak

Maurice Wilkins dies at age 87 and Watson is the only survivor of the trio awarded for discovering that the DNA structure was double helix.

Wilkins has been the most unknown character in this trio, but his works were fundamental for Watson and Crick to conclude that the DNA structure was double helix. In the early 1950s, Watson and Crick investigated the structure of DNA at the same time, Wilkins used X-ray diffraction techniques to make images of DNA and investigate its structure.

He worked at King’s College in London, alongside Rosalind Frankin, and it seems that the key to the discovery was a very clear image of Rosalind. But it seems that this image was taken without permission and given to the other two. The story was a bit dark and the doubts are still there.

However, those who had the opportunity to meet Maurice Wilkins claim that he was a brilliant researcher and a committed person.