Rosalind Franklin

We wish to discuss a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.). This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.

My x-ray diffraction pictures are among the most beautiful I have ever seen.

It is essential to have a clear idea of what one is trying to do before starting an experiment.

I am convinced that the only way to get reliable results is to be extremely careful and methodical.

The evidence of the x-ray diffraction patterns is that the structure is helical.

I'm going to find out what this thing is made of, if it's the last thing I do.

You look at science (or at least talk of it) as some sort of demoralising invention of man, something apart from real life, and which must be cautiously guarded and kept separate from everyday existence. But science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.

What I want is to be able to look back and say that I've done something useful with my life.

I think there is a good deal of joy in science, and I think it is a pity that so many people don't experience it.

The phosphate groups lie on the outside of the structural unit.

We have attempted no detailed interpretation of the Patterson function.

The results suggest a helical structure (which must be very closely packed) containing probably 2, 3 or 4 co-axial nucleic acid chains per helical unit.

I shall probably be able to get a much clearer idea of the structure when I have some better photographs.

I am very busy, and very happy.

The work is fascinating, and I am completely absorbed in it.

Coal and graphite are not dull and uninteresting; they present fascinating problems in structural chemistry.

The crystalline regions in these fibres are randomly oriented about the fibre axis.

It is a pity that the work on DNA is being done in such a competitive atmosphere.

I am not going to be rushed into publishing until I am absolutely sure of my facts.

Good experiments are their own justification.