Letter from Linus Pauling to Gobind Behari Lal. March 14, 1955. Page 1  Larger Images / More Information. 1 p.  View Transcript

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Activity Listings

• Booklet: "Candle, Book, and Bell," [collection of poems] from Sheridan Van Dolah, March 18, 1955. [Filed under LP Biographical: (LP Scrapbooks, 1951-1955), Box #6.006, Folder #6.101]
• Check from AHP to Mrs. Pearl M. Jordan for $50.00. [Filed under LP Biographical: (Business and Financial: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, December 1954-February 1956), Box #4.023, Folder #23.1]
• Letter LP to Dr. E.A. Moelwyn-Hughes, Physical Chemistry Dept., University of Cambridge, RE: Moelwyn-Hughes' letter arrived while LP was abroad. Interested to learn about the confusion regarding the heat of formation of hydrogen fluoride. Discusses values listed in various tables. Presumes that something went wrong in the work of Morgan and Hildebrand because their value is so far off from the value that LP believes is correct. Does not have time to look into this, but would be interested to know what Moelwyn-Hughes discovers after further investigation into this matter. [Letter from Moelwyn-Hughes to LP November 30, 1954] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (M: Individual Correspondence. (Mills - Morgan)), #248.7]
• Letter from D.S. Brennan to LP RE: In reference to LP's statements that nuclear bomb testing must be stopped, Brennan encloses his own proposal for a "radiological weather report." Its purpose would be to prove or disprove the AEC's repeated statements that the tests cause negligible increase in radioactive particles, as well as to "inform the public of their status as guinea pigs." Response to his proposal has indicated that there is a widespread concern over the dangers of nuclear tests. Thanks LP for speaking up on this issue. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence, 1955-1957), #38.1]
• Letter from Dr. Wilfred M. Noble, Chairman, Committee on Awards, American Institute of Chemists, to LP RE: Requests nomination for senior student in chemistry to receive award. Nomination must be submitted by April 18th. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (A: Organizational Correspondence. (Am - Am)), #10.4]
• Letter from George A.W. Boehm, Control Engineering, to LP RE: Cannot identify anything significant that Rashevsky has developed. Incapable of evaluating Rashevsky's work and would welcome LP's opinion. Remains indignant at the way Rashevsky has been treated at Chicago. Plans to leave McGraw-Hill next month to join Scientific American, a company which he believes to be more progressive. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence, 1955-1957), #38.1]
• Letter from Grace Ball to LP RE: Expresses her gratitude and support for LP's work to stop nuclear bomb testing. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence, 1955-1957), #38.1]
• Letter from John G. Moore to Mr. Pinkley, Editor, L.A. Mirror-News, RE: In the L.A. Mirror-News, read a comment by LP stating that continued experimentation with nuclear explosions would endanger the health of people everywhere. On the editorial page David Lawrence writes that talk of this nature is communist propaganda, saying that there is no danger from radioactive dust. Asks which of these men is correct scientifically. Cites evidence from Science which supports LP. Discusses genetic mutations. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (M: Correspondence, 1950-1955), #256.6]
• Letter from Joseph D. Elder, Science Editor, Harvard University Press, to LP RE: Harvard University Press is in the process of publishing the 1954 Prather Lectures in biology, which were given jointly by Professor Kluyver and Professor van Niel. Would like to publish LP's lectures in the same series. If LP plans to read his lecture from a finished manuscript, then it should not be difficult to arrange the text for publication. If LP plans to give his lecture from notes, then they would be happy to record it and provide a transcript for LP to revise. In a postscript, Beatrice Wulf writes that she cannot find the reply to this letter. In another postscript, it is noted that LP is sure that he answered it. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (H: Correspondence, 1950-1955), #166.6]
• Letter from LP to Dr. Vikram A. Sarabhai, Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association RE: Upon his return to Pasadena, found Sarabhai's letter and the enclosed copy of the letter to Dr. E.U. Condon. While Condon was in Pasadena, LP had the opportunity to talk with him about India and in particular about ATIRA. While Condon is interested in the possibility of coming to India, he is not interested in the accepting directorship of the ATIRA. Babba has talked with Condon about possibly working at the Tata Institute, but it is unclear whether the difficulties connected with this will be resolved. Thanks Sarabhai for his hospitality. [Letter from Condon to Sarabhai March 7, 1955, Letter from Sarabhai to LP April 6, 1955] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (S: Correspondence, 1953-1956), #379.3]
• Memorandum, Data: W.A. Schroeder to LP. [Filed under LP Science: Box #6.002, Folder #2.19]

  TO: Professor-Pauling FROM: W. A. Schroeder DATE: MARCH 18, 1955

  SUBJECT: PEPTIDES FROM GELATIN AND COLLAGEN

  Recently Kroner, of United Shoe Machinery Corporation has isolated: 28 new peptides from partial hydrolysates of collagen (information now in press). His data are especially useful because he has identified many tripeptides. His isolation of gly-pro-hypro and gly-(pro, hypro)-gly is a gratifying confirmation of our suggestion that the pro-hypro sequence may be important in collagen and gelatin especially because gly-pro-hypro was isolated in an amount somewhat greater than calculated for purely random distribution and the gly-(pro, hypro)-gly in an amount 3 times the calculated statistical frequency.

  In attempting to make use of this rather considerable collection of sequences in gelatin and collagen, I have felt that it might be suggestive to arrange the information in the way in which it is done on the attached pages. On these pages, the amino acids are abbreviated in the accepted way. A hyphen between names indicates that the sequence is definitely known; if the names are enclosed in parentheses and separated by commas the sequence of the amino acids within the parentheses is unknown. However, the arrangement of names within parentheses is that which is considered to be the most probable sequence. Question marks indicate that the peptide was only tentatively identified. Because not all of the peptides were isolated from a single hydrolysate, the totals have only questionable significance.

  On the following pages, the peptides of a given amino acid have been arranged so that the given amino acid is in a vertical column. In this way, it is easier to determine by inspection whether the amino or carboxyl group of the amino acid tends to be associated with a specific amino acid or type of amino acid. The most interesting conclusion from this consideration of the data is that hydroxyproline tends to be associated with X-hypro-gly -where X is any amino acid except glycine and proline to be associated with gly-pro-X although here there is a somewhat lesser restriction. I might note that I have become somewhat skeptical of Grassmann's identification of lys-pro-gly. Neither Kroner nor I find any indication of -it and yet the quantity should be appreciable.

  In view of Lindley's ideas about bending α-helixes through 180°, the identification of such sequences as glu-glu, asp-asp, asp-glu, asp-arg, and glu-arg takes on added significance.

  An arrangement of peptides in the order of decreasing amount isolated is also given. Gly-pro and hypro-gly are predominant. This predominance as well as other considerations once led me to suggest that the sequence gly-(pro, hypro)-gly might be of much importance. The available data now appear to lend much more credence to this suggestion than my indirect reasoning. Apparently, in the sequences gly-pro-X and X2 -hypro-gly, X1 frequently is hydroxyproline and X2 is proline.

  Walter Schroeder

  [Ten additional pages of data]

• Newspaper Clipping: "Scientist Would Ban Nuclear Weapons Test," Portland Oregonian, March 18, 1955. [Filed under LP Newspaper Clippings: 1955n.7]