It's in the Blood! A Documentary History of Linus Pauling, Hemoglobin and Sickle Cell Anemia All Documents and Media  
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"Men and Molecules: Molecular Medicine"
 
"Men and Molecules: Molecular Medicine" February 26, 1962.
Produced by the American Chemical Society

The Definition of Molecular Disease. (1:10)

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Narrator: A person afflicted with the disease has inherited two sickle cell genes from his parents. This realization, that the two genes manufacture the abnormal hemoglobin, set the stage for Dr. Pauling’s entry into the field of molecular medicine.

Linus Pauling: Well, when Doctors Itano, Singer, and Wells, and I published our paper in 1949, we gave it the title: “Sickle Cell Anemia: A Molecular Disease.” Now of course, in fact, one might say that any inborn error of metabolism, any hereditary disease, is a molecular disease because it involves an abnormal gene. And the gene we know, almost certainly, is a molecule of DNA, deoxyribose nucleic acid. The abnormal molecule of deoxyribose nucleic acid that is inherited by the child, prospective patient, causes the trouble for him, and the hereditary disease is accordingly a molecular disease.

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Creator: Linus Pauling
Associated: Harvey Itano, S.J. Singer, Ibert C. Wells
Clip ID: 1962v.2-dna

Full Work

Creator: American Chemical Society
Associated: Linus Pauling

Date: February 26, 1962
Genre: sound
ID: 1962v.2
Copyright: More Information

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