Writing Exercise in English

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Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin an example of persistence

Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin was a British chemist in the 20th century. Her extensive work, as a researcher is admirable and inspiring not only for chemists, or researchers but for everyone. She specialized in the determination of molecular structures and made important discoveries about very important biomolecules throughout her life.

Already as an undergraduate student by the end of the 1920’s, Dorothy started dedicating her time to the study of the structure of organic compounds. She had had the idea of using x-rays on her research and finally had success using x-ray diffraction crystallography, a technique in which she was a pioneer. Through this technique she was able to determine the molecular structure of various biomolecules, for which she received several awards. The determination of the structure of insulin was one of her most important and deserved achievements.

Hodgkin’s research with the x-ray crystallography method is remarkable; this technique is a specific x-ray procedure that involves the targeting and beaming of x-ray radiation onto crystals, in order to obtain structural patterns and images through the observation of the diffraction of the radiation beams. The initial problem is that most of the compounds that Dorothy was interested in studying, for example proteins, do not occur naturally as crystals, so she first had to crystallize the proteins and other molecules, a process that can take days, weeks or even months. Only then can the work on the diffraction-based imaging begin, this technique involves the painstaking analysis of various diffraction-produced patterns and the comparison with other structural models, a work that is easily done by computers nowadays.

After the birth of her first child, Dorothy had an infection that left her hands swollen and distorted. Because of this she developed chronic rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 28. However she continued her work and research, which involved the delicate manipulation of the microscopic crystals needed to carry out the x-ray diffraction procedure.
Her persistence on working with this complex method would turn out to be decisive in her research; the constant improvements in this specific x-ray technique, along with her dedication allowed Hodgkin to show the world for the first time the 3-D structure of a various number of important biomolecules. She began by discovering the structure of larger molecules, such as cholesterol, penicillin and the vitamin B12; for the discovery of the last two she was awarded the Nobel Prize of Chemistry. The discovery of these structures contributed in a great deal to other disciplines, such as biology and medicine as well.

Dorothy also discovered the structure of insulin in 1969, which she considered her most important achievement, and in a way it was the most deserved.
Since the beginning of her research in the 1930’s Dorothy had worked and tried to discover the structure of insulin. At the time the x-ray diffraction was not as pure and clear as it is today, the x-ray producing equipment was not as good and did not produce such refined results. So besides insulin being so small and having such a structural complexity, the technology at the time was not advanced enough and made it impossible for Dorothy to achieve her goal. Dorothy had to wait 35 years to see the structure of insulin for the first time, for her it was a very fulfilling moment.

Dorothy’s life and work are an inspiration for anyone, her contribute as a chemist to the world was important. Even for someone who does not know much about chemistry or biology will understand the importance of the comprehension of molecules such as insulin, cholesterol, and penicillin. This knowledge had direct impact on the way we understand diseases such as diabetes, for example.