Question

Given below are two statements :
Statement (I) : James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize for developing the double helical structure of DNA.
Statement (II) : Rosalind Franklin was not awarded the Nobel Prize for her contribution towards developing the double helical structure of DNA, because one Nobel Prize can not be shared with more than three persons at a time.

• A. Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are correct.
• B. Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are incorrect.
• C. Statement (I) is correct but Statement (II) is incorrect.
• D. Statement (I) is incorrect but Statement (II) is correct.

Hint:

Although the three-person limit is a strict rule of the Nobel Committee, Rosalind Franklin was ineligible for the 1962 Nobel Prize because she passed away in 1958, and the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The elucidation of the double helical structure of DNA is one of the most important scientific achievements of the 20th century.
Analyzing the historical context and the rules governing Nobel Prize nominations is essential to understand why key contributors were or were not recognized.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us evaluate both statements individually:
- Statement (I) is correct: In 1962, James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.
- Statement (II) is incorrect: Rosalind Franklin made critical contributions to the discovery of the double helix through her high-resolution X-ray diffraction images of DNA (such as Photo 51).
However, she passed away from ovarian cancer in 1958 at the age of 37.
The primary reason she was not awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 was because the statutes of the Nobel Foundation strictly prohibit the posthumous nomination or awarding of prizes (a rule established in 1974, but the committee had a long-standing policy of not awarding posthumous prizes unless the recipient died after the prize was announced).
While it is true that a single Nobel Prize cannot be shared by more than three individuals, the overriding factor preventing her nomination was her death in 1958, four years prior to the award.
Therefore, Statement (I) is correct but Statement (II) is incorrect.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct option is: Statement (I) is correct but Statement (II) is incorrect.