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"Our postulate provides an obvious explanation of the action of oxygen in preventing the sickling of sickle-cell-anemia erythrocytes.
We have visualized the sickling process as one in which complementary sites on adjacent hemoglobin molecules combine. It was
suggested that erythrocytes containing oxyhemoglobin or carbonmonoxyhemoglobin do not sickle because of steric hindrance of
the attached oxygen or carbon monoxide molecule. This steric hindrance effect might be the distortion of the complementary
sites through forcing apart of layers of protein, as is suggested by the isocyanide experiments." Linus Pauling. "The combining power of hemoglobin for alkyl isocyanides, and the nature of the heme-heme interéactions in hemoglobin." Science 114 (December 1951): 629-634 December 1951.
"Dr. St. George worked in collaboration with me for one year. The results of the work were published in a joint paper in
Science, in December, 1951. I consider him to be a well-trained young man, with much native ability, and with deep and sincere interest
in biochemistry." Linus Pauling. Letter to Elmer H. Stotz. January 21, 1952.
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