21 May 1953
Dr. D.P. Riley
The Royal Institution
21 Albemerle Street
London, W. 1
England
Dear Riley:
I am pleased to have your two letters. I have written to Queen’s University
in connection with your application for the Chowh Research Professorship.
I shall be pleased to provide a reference for you for the Intermediate Fellowship
in Cancer Research, when the Cancer Campaign people get in touch with me. They have
not yet done so.
I think that the U.S.C. matter has turned out the way it should, considering
their financial situation.
I am very glad to know about your conclusions about α1 and α2, and I look
forward to seeing your published paper. I am also very much interested to learn about
the state of the histone in calf thymis nucleoprotein. I judge that you mean that
the histone is present as an α helix.
I am also glad to learn that you have some good data on various sorts of
nucleic acids. Dr. Rich here had been considering whether he should go ahead with
a study of this sort – you know that we have been interested in it. I myself feel
that there may well be a large number of nucleic acid structures.
Corey and I are glad to give you permission to reproduce our drawing of the
α helix.
Things are going along well here. I am getting started on a new attack on
the problem of the structure of collagen. I think
Dr. Riley Page 2 21/5/53
that it may be that our proposed structure is completely wrong. At any rate,
we are hoping to make a thorough analysis of the situation.
With best regards, I am
Sincerely yours,
Linus Pauling: W
