March 7, 2020

Heroines Week Rosalind Franklin (3-7-2020)

by Chompers

Background show artwork for Chompers

Can you picture DNA without Rosalind Franklin? We sure can't!

Where to Listen

Transcript

Good morning, it’s time for Chompers, your morning and night toothbrushing show. Start brushing on the top of your mouth on one side, and brush all the way to the molars in the back. 


3, 2, 1 brush!


It’s Heroines Week, and every day we’re talking about real life heroic women from history. Today we’re learning about a brilliant scientist, who helped discover DNA, the recipe for all living things. The scientist's name was Rosalind Franklin.


Rosalind Franklin was curious about science as a young girl. She grew up in London in the 1930’s, and went to one of the only schools that taught women about science. When Rosalind was a teenager, she decided that she wanted to be scientist


Switch to the other side of the top of your mouth, and keep brushing.


[Switch Bell]


Rosalind was a great science student and eventually got a job studying something called DNA. DNA is the recipe for how to make all the living things on earth. It's much too small to see with just your eyes, but a single strand of DNA can tell you how to make the tallest tree, or the tiniest ant. At the time, lots of scientists were trying researching DNA, trying to figure out what it looked like. 


Switch to the bottom of your mouth, and brush your front teeth too!


[Switch Bell]


Rosalind was an expert in X-Rays, you know, like the ones you get at the doctor. (SFX) She thought, maybe she could use X-rays to understand DNA. She had the idea to take a picture of a strand of DNA, using X Rays. Finally, scientists could see what DNA looked like: A twisted ladder. 


Switch to the other side of the bottom of your mouth, and don't brush too hard.


[Switch Bell]


Rosalind’s photo was one of the keys to unlocking the mystery of DNA. Sadly, she didn’t get the credit she deserved at the time. But her work lived on, and today she is remembered as one of the most important scientists in the history of DNA. Because of her work as a pioneering woman of science, Rosalind Franklin is today's Chompers Heroine. 


That’s it for Chompers today, but we’ll back back with more tonight. Until then, 3, 2, 1 spit.