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An Interview with Nobel Laureate Maurice Wilkins

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An Interview with Nobel Laureate Maurice Wilkins An Interview with Stephanie Johnson is an undergraduatein the Honors College at BallState University,Muncie, IN 47306, where she is completinga Nobel Laureate majorin biology and a minor in social work. She is interested in a careeras a genetic counseling associate. While a student at the Ball State University London Center during the autumn quarter of Maurice Wilkins 1987, Johnson interviewed MauriceWilkins in his Kings College, Londonoffice. The interviewwill serve as the basis for a portionof her senior honors thesis. Thomas R. Mertensis distinguished pro- fessor of biology education at Ball State University. He has a B.S. in biology education from Ball State and a M.S. and Ph.D. in ge- netics from Purdue University. A member of the Ball State faculty for 32 years, he directs NSF-fundedprojects for inservice biology teachers and co-authoredGenetics LaboratoryInvestigations, 8th StephanieJohnson ed. (Macmillan)and Human Genetics, 4th ed. (Scott Foresman). Mertens served as NABT president in 1985 and was named an Thomas R. Mertens HonoraryMember in 1988. Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/51/3/151/43957/4448881.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 In 1962, three men-Maurice Wilkins, Francis receives an increased number of invitations to speak Crickand James Watson-shared the Nobel Prize in and "more invitations to speak at meetings and con- Medicine and Physiology for what many have called ferences on wider topics than [one's] own field; for "the greatest discovery in modem biology" (Sourkes example, 'Science and the World'.or 'Science and Re- & Stevenson 1966). This discovery, the elucidation of ligion.'" Wilkins believes that the receipt of the the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), was Nobel Prize "opens doors" to speak at conferences first published in the April 25, 1953, issue of Nature. on such widely divergent topics. The work of Watson, Crick and Wilkins, along with Wilkins recalled that during World War II he the contributions of the X-raycrystallographer Rosa- worked on the Manhattan Project at Berkeley, Cali- lind Franklin,has virtually paved the way for the en- tire field of modern genetics. Every secondary school and college biology textbook describes the double helix structure of DNA and discusses its function as the molecule of heredity, the carrier of the genetic code. The discovery of the structureof DNA has an- swered many questions about genetics and raised many others that have been and are currentlybeing researched by scientists all over the world. The Interview In November 1987, the first author had the oppor- tunity to visit with Maurice Wilkins in his office at King's College, London (see biographical note and Figure 1) and to ask him about receiving the Nobel Prize and its effect on his professionallife and career. Wilkins also commented on the direction he thinks modem genetics is headed and on his research in- terests. His thoughts and insights will no doubt in- terest all who admire his contributionsto modern bi- ology. TheNobel prize When asked, "What effect has sharing the Nobel Prize in 1962 had on your career and professional life?", Wilkins responded: "More and higher quality people want to work with you." He also noted there S. Johwns was an "increase in salary and professional Figure 1. Maurice H.F. Wilkins, photographed in his [my] London office in November status." As might be expected, a Nobel prize winner 1987. WILKINS 151 fomia. In recent years he has turned his attention to I did neurobiology,mainly nerve cell membranes, significant global problems such as world hunger for some years, but this was not very excitingand I Because of his was not very interestedin that. I was interestedin and nuclear weapons and peace. neurobiology,but I couldn'tfind a suitableline of status as a Nobel Laureate,he has the opportunity to workwhich was reallyinteresting, so I gaveit up after address conferences on such topics. Furthermore, a while. Wilkins believes that it is "in Alfred Nobel's spirit to accept some responsibility in this area. Some Lau- More recently, Wilkins has directed his energies to reates feel [that] it's wrong to speak on other topics" broaderissues at the "Science and Society" interface -i.e., topics beyond a person's field of scientific ex- -food and famine, nuclear disarmamentand the so- pertise. Wilkins said he thinks this may be just "a cial responsibility of scientists. His national and in- weak excuse to get out of responsibility."He believes ternational leadership in organizations concerned Laureates have a responsibility to the public and with these problems is cited in the biographicalnote. should study the problems of science and society. Directionsof moderngenetics Current researchinterests Although Wilkins is not a geneticist, because his Although he began his professional career as a Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/51/3/151/43957/4448881.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 physicist, Wilkins is best known for his contributions work on DNA has had such an impact on the disci- to biology, a field which he entered through the pline of genetics, one could expect him to have views "back door" of biophysics. His long and successful on the directions in which modern genetics is career demonstrates how other scientific disciplines headed. Pursuing this topic with him led to some of have had a significantimpact on the development of Wilkins' strongest statements: biology. I thinkthere is one thingI cansay, and thatis thatI In discussing his research, Wilkins provided some am not very happy aboutthe effectof molecularbi- backgroundabout his more recent interests: ologyon people'sminds. Crick has alwaysbeen a very MauriceWilkins fessor of molecular biology at the same institution One of the men involved in the discovery of the from 1963-1970(Who's Who 1987). structure of DNA was British biophysicist Maurice In the early 1950s, Wilkins was working with a gel Wilkins. Born in Pongaroa, New Zealand in 1916, of DNA, into which he inserted a glass rod and ex- Wilkins was brought to England at the age of six to tracted a fiber. He examined the fiber under a micro- be educated at King Edward'sSchool in Birmingham. scope with polarized light and recognized that the fi- He earned his B.A. in 1938 from St. John's College, brous nature of DNA was a hint that its structurewas Cambridge (Reldman & Gustafson 1963). He did crystalline. He then began to employ the X-ray dif- graduate research on luminescence and phosphores- fraction technique in studying DNA. X-ray data led cence as related to radar screens while under the tu- him to believe that the structure of DNA was in a telage of Sir John Randall at the University of Bir- helical pattern. He discussed this information with mingham, earning his Ph.D. degree in 1940 (Moritz FrancisH.C. Crickand James D. Watson, who incor- 1963). porated it in building their model of the structureof During World War II, Wilkins came to the United DNA. This contributionby Wilkinsled to his sharing States with other nuclear physicists to work on the with Watson and Crick the 1962 Nobel Prize Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic (Reidman& Gustafson 1963). bomb. Specifically,Wilkins worked on the separation In 1960, the American Public Health Association of uranium isotopes at the University of Californiain recognized the accomplishmentsof Wilkins, Watson Berkeley. After the war, he returned to England and and Crickby presenting them with the Albert Lasker focused his interests on the field of biology (Reldman Award. In 1964, Wilkins was named an honorary & Gustafson 1963). member of the American Society of Biological In 1945 Wilkins became a lectureron physics at St. Chemists and in 1969became president of the British Andrew's University in Scotland. In 1946, he joined Society for Social Responsibility in Science. In 1970, the MedicalResearch Council at King's College of the Wilkins became an honorary member of the Amer- University of London (Moritz 1963). He became an ican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1984, a honorary lecturer in the sub-department of bio- member of Food and Disarmament International physics at King's College in 1958, and he was a pro- (Who'sWho 1987). 152 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 51, NO. 3, MARCH 1989 hardline materialist,and Watson has got likethis, too. in science to pursue these interests. Certainlythe op- They think everythingabout life and humanbeings portunity to have a private interview with a Nobel can be explainedin terms of atoms and molecules. Laureatewhose work has Now, I'mputting it veryroughly. had a major impact on bi- ology was an inspiration. Most encouraging, how- I thinkthey've got a bit narrow-minded,the molec- ever, was Wilkin's personal "down-to-earth" ap- ular biologists.Molecular biology is, obviously,ex- proach in the interview tremelyimportant. It has enormouspotentiality in and his very evident concern many areas of science and medicine.But I think it for human values and for the well being of all of hu- would be a greatmistake to thinkthat it is going to manity. comprehendeverything. Nevertheless, molecular bi- MauriceWilkins, scientist, Nobel Laureateand hu- ology is a very powerful tool in science.... Quite manitarian, should stimulate many young people's whereit's going to go, I don'tknow. interest in a career in science. As an advocate of In his arguments against the mindset of many mo- science education and scientific literacy, he ought to lecularbiologists, Wilkinsclearly reflects his interests have an impact on the lives of all citizens for whom in, and concerns for, humanity and education. He an understanding of science is essential for informed related his experiences at the Lindau meeting where living in these last years of the 20th century.
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