May 25, 1937
Dr. A. E. Mirsky
Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute
66th Street and York Avenue
New York, New York
Dear Alfred:
Many thanks for your letter about my new position. I do not know how it is going to
work out but so far the change has not been for the worse since I have successfully
avoided taking on any duties except a few of the simplest.
Our work in general is progressing at a satisfactory rate. I am sending reprints of
the ferrihemoglobin work separately. Coryell is now working on denaturation and the
effect of urea and alcohol and similar agents. He finds that concentrated urea in
the middle pH range does not denature ferrihemoglobin although it causes a small change
in the moment of both the ion and the hydroxide. Stitt has been looking for new compounds.
He has evidence for a ferrohemoglobin cyanide and ferrihemoglobin formate as well
as some others. He has been given a National Research Fellowship for next year and
will leave for Harvard to work with Wilson in August. Coryell will stay here.
Astbury is here on a short visit. He gave a very interesting account of his work in
a seminar talk yesterday, and showed some fine photographs of proteins. His ideas
regarding muscle contraction, though rather vague, seem to be well founded on experiment.
How is your work progressing? Have you succeeded in building up a staff as you had
planned?
What is your opinion of Niemann, who has been given an appointment here as Assistant
Professor of Organic Chemistry?
With best regards to Reba and the children as well as to you,
I am
Yours,
Linus Pauling
LP:mrl
