Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers
The Valley Library, Oregon State University

Linus Pauling's Scientific Work and Thinking II. Middle and Later Years -- Orthomolecular Medicine Collection materials relating to orthomolecular medicine are of a different nature from those which chronicle Pauling's early and middle career. Much of the material has to do with Pauling's analysis of the work of others, and comprises papers and reports he collected, with occasional notes made in their margins and entries about them in research notebooks; the notes and typescripts for many speeches by Pauling on this topic, which give insight into his thinking; and correspondence. Some of these materials, mostly from the 1970s-1990s, are still being organized. There are also a few materials from earlier years which prefigure orthomolecular medicine. Pauling established his reputation based on crystallographic analysis of inorganic compounds, but he began a side-interest in biology in the mid-1930s, and in the late 1930s, he and Robert Corey, working on keratin, tried to determine a protein structure. By comparison to the inorganic molecules Pauling had given the structure of, protein molecules are enormously large and complex. (Hager comments, on p.189 of Force of Nature, "in the early 1930s no one knew how proteins worked or even what they looked like.") In the 1930s, Pauling and Mirsky discovered the characteristics of the denaturation of proteins, and Pauling and Nieman competed with Dorothy Wrinch to determine the structure of amino acids. Pauling became interested in hemoglobin and in antibodies, and continued some work in this area during the interruptions of World War II. As the war concluded, he went back to his keratin research and in 1948 he made his discovery of the alpha helix structure of this protein (although he did not announce this until 1950). By 1949 he had taken his hemoglobin research to the point of identifying sickle cell anemia as a molecular disease. Pauling and his co-researchers studied keratin, silk, hemoglobin, and collagen, and published many protein papers in the 1950s. Pauling would later move from this research on the structural properties of organic molecules to the physiological effects of nutrients at the molecular level. There has been little analysis of how these stages of his scientific interests may be related. See the Catalogue for a complete listing of orthomolecular medicine materials in the Science section. Selected examples of these materials follow, with emphasis on Pauling's own notes. Misc. dates Chemistry in relation to biology and medicine Science materials. Section 8. 1939-1953. Much of this section contains correspondence and reprints. Boxes 8.003 and 8.004 have some handwritten research notes, along with reprints and correspondence.   1946 Cancer Handwritten notes made on a train journey, and correspondence for an unpublished work, "The Nature and Causes of Cancer." Interesting for showing stages of early development (two drafts) of an idea, and as precursor to later work. Manuscript; correspondence 1946a.5   1958 "Molecular Structure and Disease" A Lowell Institute lecture at Harvard University. Published later as a chapter in Disease and the Advancement of Basic Science, a book of the lectures. Offprint. 1960p.1   1959 "Molecular Structure in Relation to Biology and Medicine" A brief comment on progress in this area at that time, mentioning the lack of a complete description of any one protein molecule. Interesting for a historical perspective on molecular biology. Offprint. 1959p.19   Misc. dates Orthomolecular medicine: varied Science materials. Section 11. Mostly 1970s-1990s. Much of this section contains correspondence and reprints. Orthomolecular medicine: cancer Boxes 11.001 and 11.002 include handwritten data analysis on cancer experiments.   Misc. dates Orthomolecular psychiatry Science materials. In Section 11. Correspondence, preliminaries to publication of books, some articles by others. Mostly from the 1960s, with some material from 1970-1988. Box 11.070, 1962-1988, has materials on orthomolecular psychiatry, and includes references to the Linus Pauling Institute having its beginnings in Pauling's interest in mental deficiency.   1966 Orthomolecular psychiatry In a research notebook, Pauling's notes for a paper on orthomolecular psychiatry read, "Basic idea: Provision of optimal molecular environment of the mind (optimal concentrations of substances normally present in the human body. . .) might control or prevent mental disease in hundreds of thousands of people." Notebook. Box 32R, 1966, pp. 129-30   Misc. dates Orthomolecular medicine and mental disturbances Science materials. A special subsection of Science Section 11; begins with Box 11.070 A few selected speeches on orthomolecular medicine and related topics follow. See the Catalogue under "Speeches" for a complete listing.   1968 "Abnormal Protein Molecules in Relation to Disease" Notes for a speech. Speech. 1968s.2   1968 "Molecular Complementariness and Biological Specificity" Notes for a speech. Speech. 1968s.3   1968 "Orthomolecular Psychiatry" Handwritten notes for a speech, cut and pasted on a printed article. Speech. 1968s.14   1969 "Orthomolecular Psychiatry" Manuscript and typescript for the OSU Centennial lecture, "Advancement of Knowledge." Speech. 1969s.1   1969 "The Molecular Basis of Health and Disease" On the importance of nutrition in preventing disease caused by deficiencies, and the need to fund this kind of research instead of spending money on nuclear armaments. Speech. 1969s.4   1970 Vitamin C and the Common Cold A popular book that went into paperback editions and was translated into several languages. Asserted preventive and therapeutic effects from large doses of vitamin C, based on the results of scientific trials analyzed by Pauling in a literature review. It became a controversial best-seller, liked by the public but criticized by scientists and the medical establishment. Book. 1970b.   Publications from the 1970s include many that deal with topics of orthomolecular medicine, often prepared for symposia, and sometimes written for popular magazines. Of particular interest:   1973 Institute of Orthmolecular Medicine / Linus Pauling Institute Established to continue research on the biochemistry of schizophrenia by Arthur Robinson and research on vitamin C and cancer to be headed by Pauling and carried out by Ewan Cameron, a surgeon at a hospital in Scotland who had been experimenting with vitamin C treatments. The name was changed to the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine in 1974.   1973 "The Genesis of the Concept of Molecular Disease" Pauling dates this idea to 1945, relates the work of Harvey Itano on sickle cells and the subsequent publication of their 1949 article, and describes his process of thought on scientific matters, in which ideas can lie dormant for long periods of time. Offprint. 1973p.1 Other material in this box (1973p) deals with schizophrenia, Vitamin E, Vitamin C and the common cold, the history and the current state of nutrition research. Some are articles for popular magazines.   1974 "On the orthomolecular environment of the mind" Pauling says he decided in 1954 to work on the molecular basis of mental disease. Offprint. 1974p.12 Other material in this box: Pauling's response to the American Psychiatric Association Task Force report on Megavitamins and Orthomolecular Therapy in Psychiatry.   1976 Orthomolecular medicine Handwritten notes for a speech. Pauling's own list of historical moments: hemoglobin and magnetism in 1935; immunology and complementariness in 1939; sickle-cell anemia in 1945;"Mental illness (vs cancer)" in 1954; orthomolecular psychiatry in 1966. Speech. 1976s2.17   1970s Research notebooks Research notes from the 1970s appear in various notebooks. Boxes 23R, 28R, 31R contain some 1970s material, but they are not relevant to orthomolecular medicine; some are scientific (on the chemical bond or nuclear structure), others are personal. Box 32R contains a single folder of vitamin C significant values. Boxes 33R-35R contain varied notes from varying years; some are 1970s notes about vitamin C or cancer. There are a few notes on vitamins and on the common cold in Box 46R. Box37R has some relevant notes, including one from 22 April 1971: "Note to myself" "I have been interested for some time in the possibility that vitamin C has anti-cancer activity, because of its apparent general antiviral activity. There is little information in the literature. . . I feel now that it would be worthwhile to go ahead with a study. . ." See Catalogue for listing of research notebook contents   1976 Vitamin C, the Common Cold, and the Flu An expanded version of the earlier book on vitamin C and the common cold. Book. 1976b   1976 Ava Helen diagnosed with stomach cancer Ava Helen's cancer added a profound personal element to Pauling's research into vitamin C and cancer. The diagnosis was followed by extensive surgery, and then, instead of the recommended chemotherapy or radiation, large doses of vitamin C. She regained her health for five years; the cancer recurred in 1981 and led to her death in that year.   1978 Lawsuit against the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine Brought by Arthur Robinson in a dispute with Pauling over the handling and publication of research; settled out of court in 1983.   1979 "Ascorbic acid and cancer: a review" Written with Ewan Cameron and Brian Leibovitz for the journal Cancer Research. Offprint. 1979p.2   1979 Mayo Clinic trials Pauling responds to publication of results of Mayo Clinic trials on vitamin C and cancer, which found no significant effect from the vitamin therapy, with the critique that the patients in the trial were receiving chemotherapy that compromised the ability of the immune system to be assisted by vitamin C. Pauling responded in letters and, later, in his book with Ewan Cameron.   1979 Cancer and Vitamin C A book for the public written with Ewan Cameron. Manuscript, notes and typescript. Book. 1979b.1-1979b.6   1980-1981 New research begun The National Science Foundation funds Linus Pauling Institute research on molecular structure; the National Cancer Institute funds research in vitamin C and cancer.   1970s-1980s Varied researches Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Pauling continued to publish on research on the chemical bond, crystallography, and on peace issues, as well as on orthomolecular medicine. Specific listings can be found in the Catalogue and in Zelek B. Herman's online bibliography. A brief overview of these decades and Pauling's publications during them can be found in the Chronology by Robert Paradowski in Linus Pauling: A Man of Intellect and Action.   1980s-1990s Research notebooks Research notes from the 1980s and 90s appear in various notebooks. Box 29R has some notes from the 1980s on the chemical bond; Box 35R has 1980s notes on the chemical bond and on cancer experiments with mice; Box36R and 37R have chemical bond notes from the 1980s. Box38R has notes on Institute research in the 1980s; Box40R and 41R have a few 1980s cancer notes. Box 26R has a few notes on nuclear structure from 199i; other notebooks from the 1980s and 90s have varied notes on the chemical bond and on nuclei. Box 44R (1991-1994) is interesting for its notes on the process of a man in his nineties, dealing with ill health while continuing his scientific work. In the 1992 section, on p.18, Pauling notes that he has been diagnosed with cancer; on p.55 he notes "I have discovered a simple and reliable method for determining the amount of lipoprotein-a (Lpa) in human blood." One of his last entries is made January 22, 1994, referring both to his health and to his research. See Catalogue for listing of research notebook contents.   1986 How to Live Longer and Feel Better Pauling's book on nutrition and health becomes a best-seller. Manuscript and typescript. Book. 1986b.1-b.9   Linus Pauling died on August 19, 1994.   Reading Curriculum Index