20 July 1954

Dr. D. P. Riley

The Royal Institution

21, Albermarle Street

London, W. 1

England

Dear Dennis:

I am very sorry that there has been so much delay in my answering your letters of nearly a month ago. They arrived while I was away from Pasadena on a lecture and vacation trip. I had intended to return earlier, but was delayed by two or three changes in my plans, in part the result of some trouble with my Riley.

I enclose the letter communicating your paper to The Royal Society. I have read the paper with great interest. It seems to me to be a fine contribution.

I think that you should change the word assignation to assignment, on page 48. Also, there is a misspelled word in the first line of page 60.

It seems to me that you do not include as many references to the work of other investigators as should be included. For example, on page 60 you say that it has long been known that globular proteins probably contain rods that are parallel or nearly parallel. I think that you should give references here to Perutz - probably his two papers in the Proc. Roy. Soc., and perhaps also to other investigators, such as Bernal and Sinclair. Also, although my feeling on this point may be biased, it seems to me that the paper by Corey and me, in which we assigned the configuration of the alpha helix to the rods in hemoglobin, should be mentioned in the next sentence.

I do not have any definite plans for a European trip at present. I am glad to learn about the decision on your apparatus. Whenever I hear about any opening in which you might be interested I shall let you know.

Cordially yours,

Linus Pauling:W