July 25 is the birthday of Rosalind Franklin, the almost-forgotten woman scientist who was part of the team that unravelled the mysteries of human DNA, but she did not get&nbsp;deserved credit for it during her lifetime. 
 
Besides sequencing the DNA, short for Deoxyribonucleic acid which is the building block of life, Franklin was also behind a number of pioneering scientific discoveries and experiments spanning across biology, chemistry and physics.

<h2>Who was Rosalind Franklin?</h2>

Rosalind Franklin was a British scientist whose work with&nbsp;X-ray crystallography, along with James Watson and Francis Crick, helped in the understanding of DNA as well as RNA or ribonucleic acid. Her work also helped in the study of structures of viruses as well as natural materials like coal and graphite.

Born in 1920 into a wealthy and influential British-Jewish family, she studied at some of the most prestigious institutions in the country including Cambridge University. 
 
As written in her tombstone, her discoveries on viruses "remain of lasting benefit to mankind".

But her best-known work remains the imaging of DNA through X-ray diffraction imaging.&nbsp;

As reported in a profile by Nature magazine, she "worked across biology, chemistry and physics".&nbsp;

Besides studying coal and carbon, she was an expert on viruses affecting both humans and plants including tobacco mosaic virus and poliovirus. Her work in DNA sequencing eventually helped modern medical science in tracing deadly viruses including the one that caused the recent Covid pandemic.

<h2>A forgotten heroine</h2>

Science, like many other fields, was a male-dominated domain in the 20th century, which led to Franklin&nbsp;facing sexism, sidelining and gender bias. It had been reported that while she worked with Maurice Wilkins on the imaging of DNA at King's College London, the latter passed on her data with Watson and Crick without her permission. Eventually, much of the DNA discoveries were named after Watson and Crick as we know today.

Franklin, who died of ovarian cancer at the young age of 37 in 1958, was not recognised in line with her contributions to science during her lifetime.

But currently, she is considered a pioneer in molecular biology, physics and chemistry. There have been frequent calls to honour her posthumously with a Nobel Prize, but that is yet to happen.

She was among the trailblazers who made the fields of genetics and molecular biology what they are today. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

July 25 is the birthday of Rosalind Franklin, the almost-forgotten woman scientist who was part of the team that unravelled the mysteries of human DNA, but she did not get deserved credit for it during her lifetime.

July 25 is the birthday of Rosalind Franklin, the almost-forgotten woman scientist who was part of the team that unravelled the mysteries of human DNA, but she did not get deserved credit for it during her lifetime. Besides sequencing the DNA, short for Deoxyribonucleic acid which is the building block of life, Franklin was also behind a number of pioneering scientific discoveries and experiments spanning across biology, chemistry and physics. Who was Rosalind Franklin? Rosalind Franklin was a British scientist whose work with X-ray crystallography, along with James Watson and Francis Crick, helped in the understanding of DNA as well as RNA or ribonucleic acid. Her work also helped in the study of structures of viruses as well as natural materials like coal and graphite. Born in 1920 into a wealthy and influential British-Jewish family, she studied at some of the most prestigious institutions in the country including Cambridge University. As written in her tombstone, her discoveries on viruses "remain of lasting benefit to mankind". But her best-known work remains the imaging of DNA through X-ray diffraction imaging. As reported in a profile by Nature magazine, she "worked across biology, chemistry and physics". Besides studying coal and carbon, she was an expert on viruses affecting both humans and plants including tobacco mosaic virus and poliovirus. Her work in DNA sequencing eventually helped modern medical science in tracing deadly viruses including the one that caused the recent Covid pandemic. A forgotten heroine Science, like many other fields, was a male-dominated domain in the 20th century, which led to Franklin facing sexism, sidelining and gender bias. It had been reported that while she worked with Maurice Wilkins on the imaging of DNA at King's College London, the latter passed on her data with Watson and Crick without her permission. Eventually, much of the DNA discoveries were named after Watson and Crick as we know today. Franklin, who died of ovarian cancer at the young age of 37 in 1958, was not recognised in line with her contributions to science during her lifetime. But currently, she is considered a pioneer in molecular biology, physics and chemistry. There have been frequent calls to honour her posthumously with a Nobel Prize, but that is yet to happen. She was among the trailblazers who made the fields of genetics and molecular biology what they are today. (With inputs from agencies)

Rosalind Franklin birthday: Story of the forgotten heroine of science who helped sequence DNA

Scientists have identified the first human-bred hybrid animals by using DNA sequencing in a recent study.

The research, published in Science Advances, shows domestic horses were introduced in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia during the Bronze Age.

It is based on samples from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age that encompasses the presumed transition from wild to domestic horses.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/paleontologists-discover-massive-fossils-of-sea-dragon-in-united-kingdom-443707" hreflang="en">Paleontologists discover massive fossils of ‘sea dragon’ in United Kingdom</a>

"From the skeletons, we knew they were equids [horse-like animals], but they did not fit the measurements of donkeys and they did not fit the measurements of Syrian wild asses," said study co-author Eva-Maria Geigl, a genomicist at the Institut Jacques Monod in Paris.&nbsp;

"So they were somehow different, but it was not clear what the difference was."

A combination of textual, iconographic, and archaeozoological data suggest that, by the mid to late third millennium BCE, domestic horses were introduced from neighboring mountain regions into Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and northeast Syria), where they were often referred to “donkey of the mountain.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/astronomers-discover-black-hole-that-contains-200000-times-mass-of-the-sun-buried-in-gas-443984" hreflang="en">Astronomers discover black hole that contains 200,000 times mass of the Sun buried in gas</a>

According to Geigl, "They really bio-engineered these hybrids."&nbsp;

"There were the earliest hybrids ever, as far as we know, and they had to do that each time for each kunga that was produced – so this explains why they were so valuable."

The domestication of the horse approximately 5500 years ago represents one of the most important technological innovations in the ancient world.

With the harnessing of horsepower, political, economic, and social relationships throughout the ancient world were transformed as horses revolutionized transportation and affected patterns of trade, warfare, and migration.

"Since hybrids are usually sterile, it means there was a remarkable level of energy devoted to constantly capturing and raising wild onagers, breeding them with domestic donkeys and then training these teams of prestigious kungas (which would only last for one generation)," said Benjamin Arbuckle, an anthropological archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"It really shows the innovative and experimental nature of ancient people which I think some people only associate with the modern world and also their willingness to invest a lot of resources in the artificial creation of an expensive animal used only by and for elites."

"This work settles the idea that hybrids were in fact created by ancient Mesopotamians, which is very cool," Arbuckle said.

"But we still don't know how widespread this animal was and it also doesn't address additional questions relating to other types of hybrid equids created in the Bronze Age. So there are plenty more questions." 
&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Scientists have identified the first human-bred hybrid animals by using DNA sequencing in a recent study. The research, published in Science Advances, shows domestic horses were introduced in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia during the Bronze Age.

Scientists have identified the first human-bred hybrid animals by using DNA sequencing in a recent study. The research, published in Science Advances, shows domestic horses were introduced in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia during the Bronze Age. It is based on samples from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age that encompasses the presumed transition from wild to domestic horses. Also read | Paleontologists discover massive fossils of ‘sea dragon’ in United Kingdom "From the skeletons, we knew they were equids [horse-like animals], but they did not fit the measurements of donkeys and they did not fit the measurements of Syrian wild asses," said study co-author Eva-Maria Geigl, a genomicist at the Institut Jacques Monod in Paris. "So they were somehow different, but it was not clear what the difference was." A combination of textual, iconographic, and archaeozoological data suggest that, by the mid to late third millennium BCE, domestic horses were introduced from neighboring mountain regions into Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and northeast Syria), where they were often referred to “donkey of the mountain.” Also read | Astronomers discover black hole that contains 200,000 times mass of the Sun buried in gas According to Geigl, "They really bio-engineered these hybrids." "There were the earliest hybrids ever, as far as we know, and they had to do that each time for each kunga that was produced – so this explains why they were so valuable." The domestication of the horse approximately 5500 years ago represents one of the most important technological innovations in the ancient world. With the harnessing of horsepower, political, economic, and social relationships throughout the ancient world were transformed as horses revolutionized transportation and affected patterns of trade, warfare, and migration. "Since hybrids are usually sterile, it means there was a remarkable level of energy devoted to constantly capturing and raising wild onagers, breeding them with domestic donkeys and then training these teams of prestigious kungas (which would only last for one generation)," said Benjamin Arbuckle, an anthropological archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It really shows the innovative and experimental nature of ancient people which I think some people only associate with the modern world and also their willingness to invest a lot of resources in the artificial creation of an expensive animal used only by and for elites." "This work settles the idea that hybrids were in fact created by ancient Mesopotamians, which is very cool," Arbuckle said. "But we still don't know how widespread this animal was and it also doesn't address additional questions relating to other types of hybrid equids created in the Bronze Age. So there are plenty more questions." (With inputs from agencies)

Scientists identify first human-bred hybrid animals by using DNA sequencing

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Rosalind Franklin birthday: Story of the forgotten heroine of science who helped sequence DNA

Scientists identify first human-bred hybrid animals by using DNA sequencing