Today's Google Doodle pays tribute to DNA scientist Rosalind Franklin

Trust Google to come up with Doodles that take you on a five-minute journey through time and educate you about historical figures. Today’s doodle celebrates the 93rd birthday of DNA scientist Rosalind Franklin and her achievements. Franklin is credited with the discovery of the DNA molecular structure.

The doodle is a plain and simple illustration and not one of the interactive ones we’re used to seeing these days. One of Google’s Os houses Franklin’s face and her eyes are trained on Google’s “L”, which has been represented by the DNA’s double helix.

Born in London in 1920, Franklin studied Chemistry within the Natural Sciences Tripos at the Newham College, Cambridge. She made significant contributions to the field of genetics, molecular structures of the RNA, viruses, coal and graphite.

Commemorating DNA Scientist Rosalind Franklin’s birthday

The scientist worked under Maurice Wilkins at King’s College, Cambridge in the Medical Research Council’s Biophysics Unit. According to some, Wilkins took some of Franklin’s X-ray crystallography images and showed them to Francis Crick, and James Watson, who were also researching in the same field, trying to discover the structure of DNA. Franklin passed away at a young age of 37 of ovarian cancer in 1958 and was ineligible for a Nobel Prize nomination. The Prize was then awarded to Crick, Watson and Wikins in 1962 for Chemistry. This was, after they had admitted that Franklin’s images were used to formulate their 1953 hypothesis regarding the structure of the DNA.

Earlier this month, Google came up with their most interactive doodle yet to commemorate the Roswell UFO incident. In a point-and-click game, you have to help an alien who has crash landed his spaceship near a farm in Roswell to rebuild it.