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Letter from Linus Pauling to Max Perutz. August 29, 1951.
Pauling writes to discuss spacing in the fibrous proteins of the alpha-keratin type and it's relationship to the presence of the 3.7-residue helix. He mentions that he and Corey are not sure that the helix can be found in feather rachis. Pauling and Corey found two new pleated sheet structures, to be discussed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and a new type that they call a rippled sheet. He says that he and Corey enjoyed Kendrew's visit and would like Perutz to come at some point.

Transcript

August 29, 1951

Dr. Max Perutz

Department of Physics

University of Cambridge

Cavendish Laboratory

Free School Lane

Cambridge

Dear Dr. Perutz:

I thank you for your letter of August 17. Professor Corey and I have been very pleased that you should have found the 1.5 Å spacing in fibrous proteins of the α-keratin type. In one of our papers we had mentioned it, as observed by Macarthur for porcupine quill tip. Your recognition of the presence of this reflection as a rather reliable indication of the presence of the 3.7-residue helix seems to me to be very important.

I am not at all sure that this helix is present in feather rachis. However, Professor Corey and I have pointed out in a short article that will appear in Nature that the absence of this reflection does not eliminate this helix, since the two chains proposed for the unit could be just at a phase with one another.

Professor Corey and I have found some new sheet structures—two new pleated sheets, which will be described in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and also another sheet of a new type, which we call a rippled sheet.

Sincerely yours,

LP:kh

Linus Pauling

P.S. We enjoyed Kendrew's visit very much. I wish that you could come to see us sometime.

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