Letters written to Francis Crick and from Crick to others have resurfaced. The letters highlight rivalries between Watson and Crick at Cambridge University and Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin at King’s C0llege, London, with the specter of Linus Pauling in the background. The British researchers wanted desperately to find the DNA structure before Pauling–but not enough to collaborate with each other. A description of some of what the newly found letters reveal is at http://nyti.ms/c4GAfh. An article in the journal Nature (http://bit.ly/bIMWXO) by the discoverers of the letters provides more information and some facsimile copies.

Though much has already been written about the discovery of DNA, letters from and to someone who was instrumental in the original discovery can serve as excellent pedagogical tools. The fact that scientists share the rivalries and failings of everyone else can be nicely illustrated by using the words of scientists themselves–especially scientists as competitive and driven as those who discovered the DNA structure.

I recommend these articles highly.

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