Which British physicist worked with Franklin to produce X-ray images that determined the double-helix structure of DNA and shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Watson & Crick?

Which British physicist worked with Franklin to produce X-ray images that determined the double-helix structure of DNA and shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Watson & Crick?

• A. James Watson
• B. Maurice Wilkins
• C. Francis Crick
• D. Rosalind Franklin

Answer: (B)

Maurice Wilkins is the British physicist who, at King’s College London, used X-ray diffraction to study DNA and collaborated with Rosalind Franklin. His and Franklin’s work produced the crucial images that revealed DNA’s helical shape. Wilkins then shared these findings with James Watson and Francis Crick, who used the data to build the correct double-helix model. In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for discoveries about the molecular structure of nucleic acids, while Franklin had died earlier and was not eligible for the prize.

Maurice Wilkins is the British physicist who, at King’s College London, used X-ray diffraction to study DNA and collaborated with Rosalind Franklin. His and Franklin’s work produced the crucial images that revealed DNA’s helical shape. Wilkins then shared these findings with James Watson and Francis Crick, who used the data to build the correct double-helix model. In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for discoveries about the molecular structure of nucleic acids, while Franklin had died earlier and was not eligible for the prize.