Unstoppable: Florence Bell

Discovery

BBC

Science, Technology

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber both have a love of science, but it turns out there’s a lot they don’t know about some of the leading women at the front of the inventing game. In Unstoppable, Dr Julia and Dr Ella tell each other the hidden, world-shaping stories of the engineers, innovators and inventors they wish they’d known about when they were starting out as scientists. This week, the story of the woman who mastered viewing the world in microscopic detail – ultimately helping us discover the structure of DNA.

Florence Bell’s scientific career began in the 1930s whilst studying at Cambridge University. The University didn’t grant degrees to women at the time, but this didn’t dissuade Florence. She was so talented at an imaging technique called X-ray crystallography that she started a PhD in the field – and it was during this time that she would make a pivotal discovery about the molecule of life.

Florence is an unsung hero of the DNA story. Her work laid the foundation for a vital field of research, yet her contribution was buried for years. Dr Julia and Dr Ella tell Florence’s tale, with input from Dr Kersten Hall, science historian and visiting fellow at the University of Leeds.

Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy Editor: Holly Squire

(Photo: Florence Bell. Credit: Courtesy of her son Chris Sawyer. No reuse)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix,
0:06.0	the Science of Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.4	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:30.3	In 1939 in the north of England, the Institute of Physics held a conference and one scientist was geared up to present her work.
0:41.0	Her supervisor had asked her to talk through their methods which
0:44.8	they believed would revolutionize how we view the world. And as she started
0:49.9	her demonstration, a camera flashed, capturing her in action.
0:54.6	But the next day, when she opened the local paper and saw her face reflected back at her,
1:00.6	she was shocked to discover that it wasn't her work that the press focused on, because
1:06.5	the headline alongside her photograph simply read, Woman Scientist Explains.
1:12.3	I'm Julia. Woman, Scientist, Explains.
1:16.0	I'm Julia Avie, and I'm Ella Hubbard. We're both producers for the BBC Audio Science Unit.
1:20.0	But before that, we were scientists,
1:22.0	and these are the stories we wish we'd been told.
1:25.4	This is unstoppable for discovery on the BBC World Service.
1:29.0	Okay, today Ella, I have a story which was lost to the archives of a university library
1:36.4	until really, really recently.
1:38.5	This is the life of a scientist who mastered viewing the world
	...

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