The Mysterious World of the Human Genome

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Sayre, who rightly defended Franklin from the egregious caricature depicted by Watson’s book, loses track of the contribution of Wilkins and Gosling. It is true that Franklin and Gosling had produced some of the clearest pictures yet of the B form of DNA, pictures of such clarity that they did come astonishingly close to the truth of its molecular structure. But then, confused for a year by the two seemingly different patterns of the A and B forms, Franklin veered away from her own earlier conclusions and for a year she took the view that DNA wasn’t helical at all. Sayre appears to refute this, but Gosling would subsequently confirm Wilkins’ account of how, on Friday 18 July 1952, Franklin goaded Wilkins with an invitation to a wake. The invitation card announced, with regret, the death of the DNA helix (crystalline) following a protracted illness. ‘It was hoped that Dr M. H. F. Wilkins would speak in memory of the deceased.’ At the time Wilkins assumed it was typical of Gosling’s sense of humour. But many years later he would discover that it was Franklin who had written the card, and it confirmed her refutation of any helical structure of DNA in that confused year.