Unstoppable: Florence Bell
Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber both have a love of science, but it turns out there\u2019s a lot they don\u2019t 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\u2019d known about when they were starting out as scientists. This week, the story of the woman who mastered viewing the world in microscopic detail \u2013 ultimately helping us discover the structure of DNA.
Florence Bell\u2019s scientific career began in the 1930s whilst studying at Cambridge University. The University didn\u2019t grant degrees to women at the time, but this didn\u2019t dissuade Florence. She was so talented at an imaging technique called X-ray crystallography that she started a PhD in the field \u2013 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\u2019s 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 \nProducers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey \nAssistant producer: Sophie Ormiston \nProduction Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy\nEditor: Holly Squire
(Photo: Florence Bell. Credit: Courtesy of her son Chris Sawyer. No reuse)