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8/3/2019 Dorothy Mary Hodgkin
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8/3/2019 Dorothy Mary Hodgkin
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She advanced the technique of X-ray
crystallography, a method used to determine thethree dimensional structures of biomolecules.
Among her most influential discoveries are the
confirmation of the structure of penicillin that Ernst
Boris Chain had previously surmised, and then the
structure of vitamin B, for which she was awarded
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
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In 1969, after 35 years of work and five years afterwinning the Nobel Prize, Hodgkin was able to
decipher the structure of insulin. X-ray
crystallography became a widely used tool and was
critical in later determining the structures of many
biological molecules such as DNA where
knowledge of structure is critical to an
understanding of function. She is regarded as one ofthe pioneer scientists in the field of X-ray
crystallography studies of biomolecules
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Dorothy Mary Crowfoot was born on 12 May 1910in Cairo, Egypt, to John Winter Crowfoot (1873
1959), excavator and scholar of classics, and GraceMary Hood (18771957). For the first four years
of her life she lived as an English expatriate in AsiaMinor, returning to England only a few months eachyear. She spent the period of World War I in the UKunder the care of relatives and friends, but separated
from her parents. After the war, her mother decidedto stay home in England and educate her children, aperiod that Hodgkin later described as the happiest
in her life.
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She developed a passion for chemistry from a youngage, and her mother fostered her interest in science
in general. Her excellent early education prepared
her well for university. At age 18 she startedstudying chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford,
then one of the University of Oxford colleges for
women only.
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Insulin was one of her most extraordinary researchprojects. It began in 1934 when she was offered a
small sample of crystalline insulin by Robert
Robinson. The hormone captured her imaginationbecause of the intricate and wide-ranging effect it
has in the body. However, at this stage X-ray
crystallography had not been developed far enough
to cope with the complexity of the insulin molecule.She and others spent many years improving the
technique
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Despite her scientific specialisation and excellence she
was by no means a single-minded and one-sided
scientist. She received many honours but was more
interested in exchange with other scientists. Sheoften employed her intelligence to think about other
people's problems and was concerned about social
inequalities and stopping conflict. As a consequence
she was President of Pugwash from 1976 to 1988.
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Thanks for audition !
PG po KTC Pravets, Bulgaria