\n<\/p>\n
September 16, 2025<\/p>\n
1 min read<\/p>\n
Poem: \u2018Love Letter from Photograph 51\u2019<\/p>\n
Science in meter and verse<\/p>\n
By Faith Paulsen edited by Dava Sobel & Clara Moskowitz<\/span><\/p>\n Science History Images\/Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n \u201c[c]learly Rosy had to go or be put in I am the image, that final clue. The lab, and you, squinting into the lens If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n In the lab, the men call you names, mock your clothes, Your delight, your choice of gardenia Not on the first but the fifty-first iteration, I swim up, rapt, to visibility. I fix my focus in your eyes, Rose Franklin. If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" September 16, 2025 1 min read Poem: \u2018Love Letter from Photograph 51\u2019 Science in meter and verse By Faith Paulsen edited by Dava Sobel & Clara Moskowitz Science History Images\/Alamy Stock Photo \u201c[c]learly Rosy had to go or be put in her place…. The thought could not be avoided that the best home for a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[4543,1253,9150,5430],"class_list":{"0":"post-22134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-letter","9":"tag-love","10":"tag-photograph","11":"tag-poem"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
her place…. The thought could not be
avoided that the best home for a feminist
was in another person\u2019s lab.\u201d
\u2003\u2003\u2003\u2014James D. Watson, The Double Helix (1968)<\/p>\n
I know only this lab, where light can simmer for days,
coaxing shadows to slowly define
the tiny drop you tip so carefully
onto the end of a twisted paperclip.<\/p>\n
of a machine you developed\u2014
hydrogen gas pumped through a salt solution\u2014
on the fulcrum between question and discovery.<\/p>\nOn supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
your moods, your lips, unpainted.<\/p>\n
is science.<\/p>\n
I come to you
in the honey of crystallography
amid x-rays splattered off a fiber of wet DNA
like a tadpole on a sliver of glass.<\/p>\n
I whisper my secret only to you,
the clue, first word of the organic story.
The ancient code-script
pinned down at last\u2014
The recipe for whale song
and peacock feathers
earlobe and pea plant, X and Y.<\/p>\n
I your discovery. You my laureate.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n