Published Papers

Molecular Architecture and the Processes of Life. May 28, 1948.

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Title:	Molecular Architecture and the Processes of Life [9 of 15]
Creator:	Pauling, Linus, 1901-
Publisher:	Nature.
Date:	1948-05-28
Subject:	Molecular structure
Description:	Nature, vol. 248. Original typescript.
Type:	Text
Format:	text/plain
Language:	en
Identifier:	jessebootlecture-pg09.jpg
Source:	Master scanned with Epson GT-10000+ flatbed scanner at 600 dpi.
Rights:	http://osulibrary.orst.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/dna/copyright.html
Full Text:	immunity against each disease, either through exposure to the disease, which may cause a mild attack or a severe attack, or by some special process. In- oculation against diphtheria, typhoid fever, and other diseases, and vaccination against smallpox have in recent decades led to the avoidance of an immense amount of human suffering that would otherwise have occurred. The process of vaccination against smallpox consists of the introduction into the body not of the virus of smallpox itself, but instead of a few molecules that are closely similar in nature to smallpox virus. The similarity between these molecules, of vaccinia virus, and the molecules of smallpox virus is so great that the antibodies that are produced in response to the injection of vaccinia virus molecules have the power also of combining with smallpox virus, and preventing this virus from reduplicating itself. This very simple and sensible method of combating smallpox has reduced it from the terrible scourge that it once was to a rare disease, that can become important again in the civilized parts of the world only if we forget that vaccination is necessary to keep the disease under control. The example of the vaccinia virus molecules and smallpox molecules shows that the specificity of antibody molecules is not quite complete. How- ever, it is very great-in general the antibodies that are produced in response to the inoculation by a certain antigen, such as the molecules of a virus, have the power of combining with only that particular antigen, and with no others. Sometimes, if the molecules of two substances are very closely similar, the antibody against one substance may show some power of combining with the molecules of the other substance. For example, if a minute amount of hen albumin, the protein in egg white, is injected into a rabbit, the animal will in a few days produce a large number of molecules of antibody specific to hen egg albumin, and capable of forming a precipitate with it. This antibody does not have the power of combining with any other substances, any of the thousands of the different plant and animal proteins that are known, except the egg albumin of birds of very closely related species, such as the duck-but not even with the egg albumin of birds of more distant species, such as pigeon or ostrich. The antibodies that are produced by a rabbit in response to an injection of human hemoglobin have the power of combining with hemoglobin, but not with the hemoglobin molecules from any other animal, except the monkey.