Ciencia UANL
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
rciencia@mail.uanl.mx
ISSN (Versión impresa): 1405-9177
MÉXICO
2003
Robert M. Chandler-Burns
FIFTY YEARS OF REGAL SWAY
Ciencia UANL, abril-junio, año/vol. VI, número 002
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
Monterrey, México
pp. 233-235
Tópicos
Fifty years of regal sway
Robert M. Chandler-Burns*
We who teach scientists the art of a youngish 25, was on a postdoc veloped model of the DNA structure.
writing up their results for publica- grant at Cavendish Laboratory in Yet the letter does NOT include the
tion in international journals have Cambridge, both of whom were sup- most important thing one would ex-
used Watson and Crick’s letter sent posed to be looking for the structure pect to find in a physico-chemical
to and published by Macmillian, Ltd. of hemoglobin; meanwhile at King’s argument, i.e., X-ray/crystallographic
of London on April 25th of 1953 in College in London the search for the proof of the description; rather, we
their journal Nature, volume 171, structure of DNA was being carried find a simple, hand-drawn diagram
number 4356, pages 737 and 738 out by Maurice H. F. Wilkins with that explains and ties together the
as the model or «mother»1 of con- help from crystallographer Rosalind argument put forth by Watson and
temporary scientific communication E. Franklin.2 The first three won the Crick based on 1) classical chemical
for three basic reasons: the regal Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine knowledge, 2) conversations with
sway of the authors’ argument, the in 1962, the latter having died in April other researchers, 3) other published
simplicity and economy of their of 1958. Unfortunately, Nobel prizes and unpublished data and 4) provi-
argument’s language and the pulchri- are not given posthumously. sional X-rays taken in Rosalind E.
tude of the figure and its explanation A careful study of the short inter- Franklin’s laboratory. All of this in-
in the communication. In a word, vention published in form of a long- put gave Watson, Crick, Wilkins and
their way of writing up science is ish 1028-word letter will give the Franklin new insight into the struc-
worth imitating! And today most bio- reader a feeling that, while it is true ture of DNA and they did not hesitate
medical journal editors expect their that they were only junior research- to publish it when given the opportu-
peer reviewers to demand the same ers, they had no fear of pointing out nity by Nature’s editor.
of prospective authors. that Linus Pauling, who would be the
Francis Harry Compton Crick, at Nobel laureate for chemistry in 1954, *Chandler-Burns teaches the art of writing up
35 years of age, was studying his was wrong in his and his the basic and clinical sciences at our medical
doctorate and John Dewey Watson, collaborator’s (R.B. Corey) poorly de- school. rchandlr@ccr.dsi.uanl.mx
CIENCIA UANL / VOL. VI, No. 2, ABRIL-JUNIO 2003 233
FIFTY YEARS OF REGAL SWAY
The quality of writing that pro- manuscript becomes the most beau-
duces powerful persuasion over the tiful thing there is in science!
reader has been called more simply
by John Bayley3 ‘regal sway.’ And, References
of course, the manuscript over this
fifty-year period has not lost its regal 1. Chandler-Burns, R M, The
sway over the international commu- «mother» of all articles, EMPM
nity of science scholars and students (1998):15:2.
who are now part of the ‘Age of Mo- 2. Many translators of the original
lecular Biology and Genetics’ that was letter done in Spanish have failed
launched by the Cambridge-King’s to investigate the complete name
College group in early 1953 with their of Dr. R.E. Franklin and SHE be-
historical and not-too-subtle under- comes a HE to the dismay of fe-
statement: «It has not escaped our male scientists.
notice that the specific pairing we 3. Bayley, J The poetry of self-cre-
have postulated immediately suggests ation GIT (1975):14:204-254.
a possible copying mechanism for the 3. The original is no longer available
genetic material.4» as the html text makes the MS
Waclaw Szybalski5 former editor seem «new.» Go to the following
of Gene in a personal communica- URL:
on a working trip in Mexico in 1994 to see this aspect.
would maintain that the scientist is 5. Originally quoted in Chandler-
never finished with her/his work un- Burns, R.M. English for Science
til the manuscript has not one single and Technology: profiles and per-
scientific, grammatical or typescript spectives (ed. T. Orr) The Univer-
error. When there is regal sway and sity of Aizu Press (Aizuwaka-
not one typographical error, the matsu, 1995).
234 CIENCIA UANL / VOL. VI, No. 2, ABRIL-JUNIO 2003
ROBERT M. CHANDLER -BURNS
Facsímil, artículo original. Nature, abril 25 de 1953.
CIENCIA UANL / VOL. VI, No. 2, ABRIL-JUNIO 2003 235