Letter from Linus Pauling to Robert Corey. February 3, 1948. Page 1  Larger Images / More Information. 2 pp.  View Transcript

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Activity Listings

• Carbon copy of list of mail forwarded from Caltech by Beatrice Wulf to Priscilla Roth at Balliol College. [List from Wulf to Roth January 30, 1948] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Oxford University, [re: Eastman professorship and residency in Oxford] 1946-1948), #299.8]
• Flyer: “Structural Basis of Physiological Activity of Proteins”, Oxford University Medical Society, February 3, 1948. [Filed under LP Scrapbooks, 1946-1950: Box #6.005, Folder 5.22]
• Letter from Dr. Abram B. Stravitsky, Institute of Pathology, Western Reserve University to Beatrice Wulf, Secretary to LP RE: Says he has given the new number of the review to the journal, and says he will be sure to send her reprints although she will know from the bill which will be sent. [Letter from Wulf to Stravitsky January 26, 1948] [Filed under LP Correspondence: 378.1]
• Letter from George G. Taylor, Assistant Secretary, to Beatrice Wulf. RE: Thanks her for sending the picture of LP. [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Correspondence, 1943-1948: Box #14.003 Folder #3.4]
• Letter from George Pepper to LP. Informs that LP and AHP are sorely missed, LP has been reelected national vice chairman of the PCA and Pepper urges acceptance of position. Also urges acceptance of position as Far West regional chairman for the ASP. [Letter from LP to Pepper February 16, 1948]. LP Peace: Box 4.014, Folder 14.3
• Letter from LP to Dr. Britton Chance RE: Informs him that he will be returning the manuscripts and the letter he has prepared under a separate cover. [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #64.2, file:(Chance, Britton, 1947-1949, 1950, 1960-1961, 1968-1969, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1993)]
• Letter from LP to Dr. Daniel Clapp RE: Sends him a statement on Dr. Britton Chance's work. [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #64.2, file:(Chance, Britton, 1947-1949, 1950, 1960-1961, 1968-1969, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1993)]
• Letter from LP to Dr. Robert Corey. [Note from Corey to LP February 11, 1948] [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #67.6 file:(Corey, Robert B., 1937, 1943, 1947-1952, 1954-1957, 1960, 1965, 1967-1968, 1971)]

  AIR MAIL

  Balliol College;

  Oxford, England

  Feb. 3, 1948

  Dr. Robert B. Corey

  Crellin Laboratory

  California Institute of Technology

  Pasadena 4, California

  Dear Bob:

  I hope very much that you are getting along well, and are using good judgement about going back to work. It would be much better for you to stay an extra couple of months at home now than to get up prematurely and have to go back to bed again later on.

  I haven't seen very much of the crystallographers here so for—having been kept very busy with everything else. I have, however, seen a lot of Dorothy Hodgkin. Also a young fellow named Poiser came from London the other day to talk to me about working in America for awhile—he has been in charge of the cement project in Bernal's research institute. I doubt that there is anything that we would want to do for him. However, he did make an interesting statement, that he was associated with Bunn in the fly's -eye investigation of penicillin, and is very optimistic about this method. He said that it would be possible to try, say, fifty or sixty proposed structures for an organic compound of moderate complexity in a reasonable length of time—that the intensity comparison could be made for a structure with a total outlay of time of about two hours for one man. This would mean that perhaps two or three weeks would be required to try the fifty or sixty structures. His enthusiasm is so great that I think that it would be desirable to have Jerry or someone else look into the fly's-eye method, to see whether or not we should adopt it. It might be very helpful with the amino acids and simple peptides.

  Dr. Corey Feb. 3, 1948

  Also I saw Perutz for an hour a couple of days ago—he was up on a visit from Cambridge. He said that one of the men there has got very interesting results with myoglobin. Its molecular weight is, of course, only 17,000, and the crystal contains two of these molecules in the monoclinic unit, with a two-fold screw axis. The unit is 30 Å. along the b axis, and about 65 Å. On each of the other two axes, with a 73 angle between them. He describes the molecule as a pancake 65 Å. In diameter and 15 Å. Thick, and says that the data (Patterson) show that there is a single polypeptide chain, folded presumably into an alpha-carotid fold, and then zig-zagging back and forth in the plans to give the pancake molecule. Also the optical date show that the one heme group is perpendicular to the plane—that is, the plane of the heme group is parallel to the b axis, and presumably this group is attached to the pancake at one edge.

  All of this suggests to me that we should get some full-time post-doctorate man at work gathering data for crystalline proteins. Will you see what can be done about this?

  With best regards, to Mrs. Corey also, I am

  Sincerely yours,

  Linus Pauling:par

• Letter from LP to Dr. W. von E. Doering, Chemistry Department, Columbia University RE: Writes to add his encouragement to that of Freeman for him in writing an elementary organic chemistry text for their series, adds that he could do a first rate job and his manuscript would conform to the spirit of their series, encourages questions. [Letter from Freeman to LP February 24, 1948] [Filed under LP Correspondence: 439.6]
• Letter from LP to Miss K. Sarginson, Somerville College RE: Thanks her for her invitations, says he can not accept them or attend the meetings, and gives his reasons. [Note from Sarginson to LP February 1, 1948] [Filed under LP correspondence: (Oxford University, [re: Eastman professorship and residency in Oxford] 1946-1948), #299.8]
• Letter from Professor A. R. Ubbelohde, Queen's University, Belfast, to LP RE: says he understands his problem, suggests maybe he make a quick stop before Scotland, and hopes he will be able to come at some convenient date. [Letters from LP to Ubbelohde January 30, 1948, February 8, 1948] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Oxford University, [re: Eastman professorship and residency in Oxford] 1946-1948), #299.8]
• List of mail forwarded from Caltech by Beatrice Wulf to Priscilla Roth at Balliol College. [Carbon sent back from Roth to Wulf February 20, 1948] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Oxford University, [re: Eastman professorship and residency in Oxford] 1946-1948), #299.8]
• Manuscript, Correspondence: The Nature of the Chemical Bond — A Postulatory System of Structural Chemistry, Lecture 5, Balliol College, Oxford University, England. [Filed under: LP Speeches, 1948s.8]
• Note from Dr. R.M.C. Arnot to LP RE: Requests that LP come to lecture at the Plastic Division of Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. in May. Suggests macromolecules as the subject and goes on to describe the work he is currently doing. Includes an article on protein synthesis by Woodard along with some technical questions as a post-script. [Letter from LP to Arnot March 30, 1948] [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #12.14, file:(A: Correspondence, 1948)]