Double Helix

BIO375 Race for the Double Helix Assignment

Write an essay that answers ONE of the following questions. Your paper should be an absolute MINIMUM of two pages, typed (I recommend going at least one line onto the third page to be sure you meet this requirement). Use 12-point Times New Roman, double spacing, and 1-inch margins (2-page MINIMUM; if yours is less than this, your score will be reduced). Use evidence from the movie in your essay (you can Google the movie if you want to use quotes; be sure to cite any source(s) you use). You should cite AT LEAST the movie (so your paper will have at least one citation; this does not count as part of your two pages). You may use any citation format.

1. How was the scientific method used and described in The Double Helix?

2. What was James Watson’s primary motivation for studying nucleic acids?

3. Did Rosalind Franklin make any significant contribution to the discovery of DNA? What explains the attitude and/or treatment of her, by her colleagues? Was this indicative of the times or was her case an exception?

4. What was the most important experiment in discovering the structure of DNA was and how would the question be different if the work was done today.

5. Did Watson, Crick, and Wilkins deserve to be awarded a Nobel Prize for their work documented in The Double Helix? If you had been on the prize committee, what would you have done about Franklin?

6. Watson’s book (that the movie is based on) has an unusual style of scientific reporting to make it more appealing to the general public. It received a great deal of criticism from the scientific community for not being scientific enough. What do you think of this controversy? —You’d likely need to read the book to answer this question; I have a copy if you’d like to borrow it.

7. If you were going to be a research scientist, which person from the film do you think you would be most like and why?

8. Which do you think should be the goal of a scientist: receiving credit for being the first one to make an important discovery, or sharing your results with others so that the discovery can be made as soon as possible, even if you don’t get the credit for it?

9. Do you think that women scientists are still discriminated against the way Rosalind Franklin was in the 1950s?

10. Aside from the direct effects of discrimination against women, please describe other possible consequences of the fact that science has historically been a profession that has been dominated by men, most of whom had above average incomes.

11. Does the film suggest there is one way of doing science or several ways? If there are several, how do they differ? What about the reasons for doing science? What reasons seem to motivate the different scientists portrayed in the film?

12. What does this example of scientific discovery suggest about the importance of combining the perspectives of different disciplines in an effort to solve a problem?

13. Based on your understanding of the structure of DNA, explain why the film tries to generate so much excitement as Watson and Crick pin down the correlations for A-T and C-G.

14. Compare the research approaches, styles, and attitudes of Watson and Crick with those of Franklin.

15. When Franklin finally had the opportunity to look at the DNA double-helix model constructed by Watson and Crick, what was her response? What was Wilkins’ response? What would have been your response and why?

16. Why is the movie called “The Race for the Double Helix?” Do you think scientific research should be a race? Why or why not?

17. Who do you think played the most important role in the discovery of the structure of DNA? The least important role? In your opinion, were the Nobel Prizes awarded fairly? Why or why not?

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