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The end of WWII dominated the political and social climate of the 1950's.
Darwin's theory of evolution in combination with genetic inheritance served to establish and unify biology as a field.
Biology in the post-war era
Biology in the post-war era
Following WWII, the biological sciences went through a period of significant development and maturation. The post-war political and social climate of the 1950's was hungry for growth and development. The theory of evolution, based on genetic inheritance, served this purpose in the natural sciences as it provided a foundation upon which scientific advancement could proceed (Smocovitis 1992). Evolution became widely accepted in the sciences and society in general, which served to unify the biological sciences and distinguish biology from the well-established physical sciences of chemistry and physics. As a result of its role in establishing biology as a mature science, the study of genetics was at the forefront of biological research during the 1950's.
The genetic revolution of the 1950's
The genetic revolution of the 1950's
As the primary discipline of biological study in the 1950's, the field of genetics saw many significant advancements during this time period (Birnstiel 1996). In 1952, DNA was identified as the material basis for genetic inheritance by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase. In 1953, Watson and Crick, based on x-ray crystallography research by Rosalind Franklin, determined the double helix structure of DNA. In 1955, Joe Hin Tiho discovered that the human genome consisted of 46 chromosomes. Also in 1955, Arthur Kornberg and his associates identified the enzymes responsible for copying DNA. In 1958, the semiconservative replication of DNA was discovered by Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl. These discoveries served as the context in which Marthe Gautier did her work on chromosome abnormalities. In 1959, working under Raymond Turpin, Marthe was the first to identify the condition known as trisomy 21 that causes Down's syndrome. More information on all of these discoveries and many more can be found at genome.gov.
Martha Chase and Alfred Hershey identified DNA as the genetic material in 1952.
Watson and Crick determined the double helix structure of DNA in 1953.
Marthe Gautier's work on chromosome abnormalities occurred in 1959.
The ABMA Rocket Scientists of the 1950's made up entirely of men as was typical for the sciences at the time.
Rosalind Franklin, a well know marginalized female scientist from the 1950's.
Image of DNA produced by Rosalind Franklin using X-ray crystallography that was used by Watson and Crick to determine DNA's structure.
Women in Science during the 1950's
Women in Science during the 1950's
While the 1950's saw significant growth in the field of biology, the civil rights and feminist movements would not begin to take shape for another decade. As a result, the sciences in the 1950's were markedly masculine. While women were certainly involved in scientific research, the majority of prominent scientists were male. Rosalind Franklin is probably the most well known example of the impact of male dominance on women in the sciences. As mentioned above, her research involved using x-ray crystallography to try and determine the molecular structure of DNA. Rosalind's work was used by Watson and Crick without her permission or knowledge, and ended up providing a key piece of evidence in uncovering the structure of DNA (Stasiak 2001). Watson and Crick received a Nobel prize for their work, but Rosalind unfortunately passed away early in life and her contributions were never fully acknowledged. Marthe Gautier's career is a very similar example of a female scientist that was marginalized by the male-dominated scientific community of the 1950's. Continue reading to find out more about her story.
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