Rosalind Franklin: DNA's unsung hero - Cláudio L. Guerra

Translator: Gwyneth Jocelyn Reviewer: Sarmoko Sarmoko

The discovery of the structure of DNA

Penemuan struktur DNA

was one of the most important scientific achievements in the last century,

merupakan salah satu pencapaian ilmiah yang paling penting di abad ini,

in human history, in fact.

bahkan di sejarah manusia.

The now-famous double helix is almost synonymous with Watson and Crick,

Struktur DNA heliks ganda hampir selalu dikaitkan dengan Watson dan Crick,

two of the scientists who won the Nobel Prize for figuring it out.

dua dari ilmuwan yang memenangkan Hadiah Nobel berkat penemuan stuktur DNA.

But there's another name you may know, too,

Tetapi ada nama lain yang kamu mungkin tahu,

Rosalind Franklin.

yaitu Rosalind Franklin.

You may have heard that her data supported Watson and Crick's brilliant idea,

Kamu mungkin pernah dengar datanya mendukung ide brilian Watson dan Crick,

or that she was a plain-dressing, belligerent scientist,

atau bahwa dia adalah seorang ilmuwan berpakaian biasa yang suka berkelahi,

which is how Watson actually described her in "The Double Helix."

seperti yang diceritakan Watson di bukunya "the Double Helix."

But thanks to Franklin's biographers,

Tetapi berkat penulis biografi Franklin,

who investigated her life and interviewed many people close to her,

yang telah menyelidiki hidupnya dan mewawancarai orang-orang terdekat,

we now know that that account is far from true,

kita sekarang tahu bahwa deskripsi itu jauh dari kebenaran,

and her scientific contributions have been vastly underplayed.

dan kontribusi ilmiahnya telah diremehkan.

Let's hear the real story.

Maka, mari kita dengar cerita sesungguhnya.

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was born in London in 1920.

Rosalind Elsie Frank dilahirkan di London pada 1920.

She wanted to be a scientist ever since she was a teenager,

Dia ingin menjadi seorang ilmuwan sejak dia seorang remaja,

which wasn't a common or easy career path for girls at that time.

sebuah jalur karier yang tidak lazim dan tidak mudah bagi para gadis di masa itu.

But she excelled at science anyway.

Tetapi ia selalu unggul di sains.

She won a scholarship to Cambridge to study chemistry,

Dia mendapatkan beasiswa ke Cambridge untuk belajar kimia,

where she earned her Ph.D.,

tempat ia mendapatkan gelar Ph.D-nya,

and she later conducted research on the structure of coal

dan mengerjakan risetnya tentang struktur batu bara

that led to better gas masks for the British during World War II.

membuahkan masker gas yang lebih baik bagi Inggris pada Perang Dunia II.

In 1951, she joined King's College

Pada 1951, dia bergabung dengan King's College

to use x-ray techniques to study the structure of DNA,

menggunakan teknik sinar X untuk mempelajari struktur DNA,

then one of the hottest topics in science.

topik paling panas sains pada masa itu.

Franklin upgraded the x-ray lab and got to work

Franklin meningkatkan standar lab sinar X dan mulai bekerja

shining high-energy x-rays on tiny, wet crystals of DNA.

menyinarkan sinar X energi tinggi pada kristal kecil dan lembap yang berisi DNA.

But the acadmemic culture at the time wasn't very friendly to women,

Tetapi budaya akademik pada masa itu tidaklah bersahabat dengan wanita,

and Franklin was isolated from her colleagues.

dan Franklin terisolasi dari koleganya.

She clashed with Maurice Wilkins,

Dia berseteru dengan Maurice Wilkins,

a labmate who assumed Franklin had been hired as his assistant.

teman lab yang menganggap Franklin telah dipekerjakan sebagai asistennya.

But Franklin kept working,

Tetapi Franklin terus meneliti,

and in 1952, she obtained Photo 51, the most famous x-ray image of DNA.

dan pada 1952, ia mendapatkan Foto 51, gambar sinar X DNA yang paling terkenal.

Just getting the image took 100 hours,

Untuk mendapatkan gambar itu butuh waktu 100 jam,

the calculations necessary to analyze it would take a year.

perhitungan untuk menganalisisnya butuh waktu satu tahun.

Meanwhile, the American biologist James Watson

Sementara itu, ahli biologi Amerika, James Watson,

and the British physicist Francis Crick

dan ahli fisika Inggris, Francis Crick

were also working on finding DNA's structure.

juga sedang meneliti untuk menemukan struktur DNA.

Without Franklin's knowledge,

Tanpa sepengetahuan Franklin,

Wilkins took Photo 51 and showed it to Watson and Crick.

Wilkins mengambil Foto 51 dan menunjukkannya kepada Watson dan Crick.

Instead of calculating the exact position of every atom,

Mereka tidak menghitung posisi pasti tiap atom,

they did a quick analysis of Franklin's data

melainkan mereka menganalisis data Franklin,

and used that to build a few potential structures.

dan menggunakannya untuk menentukan beberapa kemungkinan struktur DNA.

Eventually, they arrived at the right one.

Akhirnya, mereka menemukan struktur yang benar.

DNA is made of two helicoidal strands,

DNA terbuat dari dua unting berbentuk heliks,

one opposite the other with bases in the center like rungs of a ladder.

unting saling berlawanan dengan basa di tengah seperti sebuah tangga.

Watson and Crick published their model in April 1953.

Watson dan Crick mempublikasikan model ini pada April 1953.

Meanwhile, Franklin had finished her calculations,

Sementara itu, Franklin telah menyelesaikan perhitungannya,

come to the same conclusion,

menemukan kesimpulan yang sama,

and submitted her own manuscript.

dan memasukkan sendiri manuskripnya.

The journal published the manuscripts together,

Jurnal menerbitkan dua manuskrip bersamaan

but put Franklin's last,

tetapi manuskrip Franklin diletakkan terakhir,

making it look like her experiments just confirmed Watson and Crick's breakthrough

membuat eksperimennya tampak seperti konfirmasi temuan Watson dan Crick

instead of inspiring it.

bukannya menjadi inspirasi eksperimen Watson dan Crick.

But Franklin had already stopped working on DNA

Tetapi Franklin telah berhenti menggeluti DNA

and died of cancer in 1958,

dan meninggal karena kanker pada 1958,

never knowing that Watson and Crick had seen her photographs.

tanpa mengetahui bahwa Watson dan Crick telah melihat foto kristalnya.

Watson, Crick, and Wilkins won the Nobel Prize in 1962

Watson, Crick, dan Wilkins memenangkan Hadiah Nobel pada 1962

for their work on DNA.

untuk penelitian mereka mengenai DNA.

It's often said that Franklin would have been recognized by a Nobel Prize

Sering dikatakan bahwa Franklin seharusnya mendapat Hadiah Nobel

if only they could be awarded posthumously.

seandainya prestasi itu dapat diberikan anumerta.

And, in fact, it's possible she could have won twice.

Bahkan, dia mungkin bisa memenangkannya dua kali.

Her work on the structure of viruses led to a Nobel for a colleague in 1982.

Karyanya tentang struktur virus mengantarkan koleganya meraih Nobel 1982

It's time to tell the story of a brave woman who fought sexism in science,

Sudah saatnya kita menceritakan kisah

wanita pemberani yang telah melawan seksisme di sains,

and whose work revolutionized medicine, biology, and agriculture.

dan yang karyanya merevolusi ilmu kedokteran, biologi dan pertanian.

It's time to honor Rosalind Elsie Franklin,

Inilah saatnya untuk menghormati Rosalind Elsie Franklin,

the unsung mother of the double helix.

ibu tanpa tanda jasa dari heliks ganda DNA.