万物简史 第589期:生命的物质(15)（在线收听）

To Wilkins's presumed dismay and embarrassment, in the summer of 1952 she posted a mock notice around the King's physics department that said: "It is with great regret that we have to announce the death, on Friday 18th July 1952 of D.N.A. helix... . It is hoped that Dr. M.H.F. Wilkins will speak in memory of the late helix."

令威尔金斯感到震惊和难堪的是，1952年夏，富兰克林在国王学院物理系附近张贴了一张布告，以嘲讽的口吻说：“我们非常遗憾地宣布，D.N.A螺旋于1952年7月18日，星期五，与世长辞……希望M.H.F.威尔金斯博士为已故的双螺旋致悼词。”

The outcome of all this was that in January 1953, Wilkins showed Watson Franklin's images, "apparently without her knowledge or consent." It would be an understatement to call it a significant help. Years later Watson conceded that it "was the key event ... it mobilized us." Armed with the knowledge of the DNA molecule's basic shape and some important elements of its dimensions, Watson and Crick redoubled their efforts. Everything now seemed to go their way. At one point Pauling was en route to a conference in England at which he would in all likelihood have met with Wilkins and learned enough to correct the misconceptions that had put him on the wrong line of inquiry, but this was the McCarthy era and Pauling found himself detained at Idlewild Airport in New York, his passport confiscated, on the grounds that he was too liberal of temperament to be allowed to travel abroad. Crick and Watson also had the no less convenient good fortune that Pauling's son was working at the Cavendish and innocently kept them abreast of any news of developments and setbacks at home.

其结果是，1953年1月，威尔金斯将富兰克林的DNA结构的X射线衍射照片出示给沃森，他这样做“显然没有向富兰克林打招呼，也没有得到她的许可”。把这称之为对他很有帮助的事，那会不够劲儿。多年以后，沃森承认这是“具有决定意义的一件事……它极大地鼓舞了我们”。由于掌握了DNA分子的基本形状和其他一些重要数据，沃森和克里克加快了他们工作的步伐，一切似乎都顺理成章了。有一次，鲍林前往英国参加会议，他本来有可能在会议期间碰到沃森，并从他那里学到一些东西，以纠正自己所犯下的错误，正是这种错误使他在DNA结构研究方面走错了方向。当时是麦卡锡主义猖獗的时代，像他这样的自由主义者是不允许到国外去的，结果鲍林被扣在纽约艾德瓦德机场，护照也被没收。相比之下，克里克和沃森倒是方便和幸运得多，因为鲍林的儿子也在卡文迪许实验室工作，天真无邪的他将有关他父亲研究的成功和失败的情形及时通报给了他们。