10 February 1953
Dr. Jerry Donohue
Cavendish
Laboratory
Cambridge England
Dear Jerry:
I am glad to have the list of interatomic distances. I have found out that Dr. Yakel has a complete list of interatomic
distances for the 3.60-residue α helix. He has carried this out through five turns of the helix. I shall ask him to check
your list item by item, to see whether he agrees with you. I know that the values that he has differ a little bit from the
values used in our calculation, which, however, corresponded to a helix with 3.67 residues per turn, and perhaps the coordinates
were a little bit different too. Yakel said that in general the disagreement was only 0.1 A.
I shall look forward to seeing your manuscript on the helical structures.
I enclose a copy of my Solvay Congress paper, without the figures, however - I don't think that the lack of the figures will
bother you.
As to the nucleic acid structure, I don't see any reason for it to be unsatisfactory as a structure for the nucleate ion,
except of course that the negative charges are closer together than they would be if the phosphate groups were on the outside
of the molecule, rather than near the axis. In any ease, hydrogen bonds are pretty weak, and a structure held together just
by hydrogen bonds might not be satisfactory. The three chains in our structure are tucked together almost too tightly and
bound by the sugar residues.
I don't think that there is any use in trying to decide on substances tor you to investigate in connection with the work on
nucleotides, until you get here next fall. I may say that I think, in view of your interest in settling permanently in California,
that you should consider a job at U.S.C. seriously. My opinion of bids school has gone up, especially since the new chemistry
laboratory has been constructed. The availability of government money for support of research makes the attractiveness of
a job at U.S.C. greater than it was before the war. I don't think that there is any possibility of a permanent appointment
here at the Institute, and it seems to me that if you are going to take a job at U.S.C. it would be better to take it now
than a year later - you would have that much more seniority, for one thing.
Dr. Donohue
2/10/53
I hope that you will be back by 20 September 1953, in order to take part in the conference on the configuration of polypeptide
chains in proteins.
I have expressed again to the Guggenheim foundation my strong feeling that the amount of the stipend awarded in some cases,
including your case, is too small. I think that the thing for you to do now is to write to the Guggenheim Foundation, sending
them a breakdown of your expenses somewhat like the one that you have enclosed with your letter, pointing out that the cost
of living and traveling has turned out to be greater than you had anticipated, and asking if an additional grant can be made
to you. I do not know what will be done - I am not on the board this year.
I shall be in Cambridge from Saturday to Tuesday, according to present plans, and I should have time for a good talk with
you.
With best regards, I am
Sincerely yours,
Linus Pauling:W
