Chapter 15 12 Big plans
Roaming the Molecular World
Pauling entered the war early and withdrew from the war early. In 1943, the German Sixth Army surrendered at Stalingrad.After hearing the news, Pauling was convinced that the Allies would soon win.At the time, he was considering renewing another wartime research contract with the federal government for the chemical analysis of an oxygen point-of-use production system. "A funny thing happened in July 1943," Hughes, Pauling's assistant on the project, recalled. "Pauling and I knew very well that the basic research we did would never be able to reach the battlefield within two years." practical; and judging by all indications, the war will be over within two years. We therefore refuse to renew the contract. We feel that it would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
At that time, a year before the Allied counteroffensive in northern France, Pauling was thinking ahead of time about his post-war research plans, including an ambitious research project much larger than any he had done before. .
Because of the war, those very large scientific research projects also seem to have become feasible.The government allocates huge sums of money to support university research centers conducting weapons research.During the four years of the war, Caltech received more than $40 million in federal funding, the second-highest among universities after MIT.By the end of the war, Caltech had ten times more faculty than it had before the war; and MIT's prestigious Radiology Laboratory (later known as the "Radiology Laboratory") had researchers, From 15 at the beginning of the war to more than 4,000.The laboratory, under the leadership of a young physicist and management expert Lee Dubridge, produced a much-needed new device called radar.The largest wartime research program, however, was the top-secret Manhattan Project for a new bomb, run by Oppenheimer.By the end of the war, the accumulated funds invested in this project exceeded 2 billion US dollars, which is also the most expensive single scientific research project in human history.
The enormous success of the Radiology Laboratory and the Manhattan Project had important implications for the development of postwar science.The success of these two projects, and a host of other research initiatives, proved to political leaders that research projects that pooled large sums of money and talent—what came to be known as 'big science'—was not only possible, but fruitful the results.
As far as Pauling's nature is concerned, he doesn't like big scientific research-he likes to think alone, and personally selects a few assistants to do some experiments-but he has a great appreciation for Caltech's 50 outstanding young people under the leadership of Corey. The research team composed of chemists was very satisfied, and he was pleasantly surprised by their achievements in the study of explosives.It would be a pity, he felt, if the group disintegrated as his wartime support ended.Although explosives analysis may no longer be a priority in post-war peacetime, many other problems still require a sizable chemical analysis team.
In late 1943, Pauling began suggesting to Rockefeller Foundation officials that it was time to consider a new wave of large-scale studies of protein structure.Ten years ago, Weaver pushed him to carry out this research, and then it was completely because of the war that the research work stopped.Now, restarting this research project is as important as it was ten years ago.Besides, with such a ready-made and well-organized team of chemical analysts, he could make a comeback and hope to be successful.
In January 1944, Foundation official Hansen visited Caltech.Pauling submitted his plan to him.Hansen, the person who had cut funding for Pauling's artificial antibody research project, took a perfunctory attitude towards Pauling.He said the foundation was interested in his research proposals, but discussions would not take place until sometime after the war.Undaunted, Pauling continued to lobby.In the summer of the same year, he wrote to Hansenli to express his opinion: "Although the structure of proteins is so complicated that we cannot hope to solve this problem completely and completely, I am sure that the general principles of protein structure can be obtained in our lifetime. profound understanding.” In August, the Faculty of Science and Technology planned the future key research projects of the whole school, and Pauling drafted a 10-page plan for the Department of Chemistry, proposing a major expansion of only one new research field: “Research on Physiological The nature and structure of chemical substances in the process, and the analysis and interpretation of physiological processes.” He proposed to start a new research project, which he personally led, not only to coordinate the work of the existing chemists and biologists in the Institute of Technology, but also to Introduce experts in physiology, bacteriology, pharmacology, enzyme chemistry, and virology to jointly tackle key problems and explain life processes by analyzing the interactions of macromolecules.This is indeed a large scientific research worthy of the name.
In September, Weaver came back to be in charge of the Natural Sciences Department of the Rockefeller Foundation, and Pauling wrote to him about his vision.He writes that it took Corey and his assistants more than a year to determine the structure of the simple amino acid because the calculations in X-ray crystallography are unusually slow to do.However, if more people work together and use state-of-the-art equipment, including the new IBM card computer (the Pauling research group was one of the first units to use this computer), to process large numbers of crystal macromolecules Data, it is estimated that it takes only one year to do what Corey needs six years to do.Pauling suggested that after the war, 20 people should be drawn from his explosives research group to work together to tackle key problems and focus on protein structure.He estimated the total cost of the three-year research effort, including equipment and logistics, at roughly $150,000.He asked Weaver if he should apply now so that funding would be available as soon as the war was over.
Despite the high sums required, the head of the Rockefeller Foundation's Department of Natural Sciences expressed a keen interest in Pauling's plan.It's a grand vision to tackle the protein structure problem by taking the big science approach.Pauling knew that Weaver was still keen to explore the mysteries of life, and he had enough insight to recognize the importance of this research.To solve problems such as protein structure, there is no other way but to concentrate on research.However, there are still some problems here.Although Pauling's theoretical research is very successful, and Corey's analysis of amino acids is also very effective, Caltech is still not a protein experimental research center in the United States.The Rockefeller Institute, where Berkman, Mosky and a dozen other famous scholars belong, is still the number one basic research base in this field.In addition, the lessons learned in the artificial antibody project also made Weaver dare not rashly agree with Pauling's plan.
In the style typical of the Rockefeller Foundation, he wrote a cold reply letter to Pauling, emphasizing that the foundation still only supports small-scale research projects carried out by a few people, and hoped that Pauling would consider less cost and more flexible methods research projects.At the same time, he assigned an official to secretly call some well-known protein experts in the United States for consultation, asking them to express their opinions on Pauling's research plan.The opinions returned by the experts all expressed enthusiastic affirmation.Schmidt, a protein expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, even worked on it for a few days.He discussed Pauling's plan with a group of colleagues over lunch.To draw their conclusions, they set out to informally rank the world's most important protein research centers.In the ensuing days, this discussion turned into a comprehensive analysis.They lined up more than a dozen schools based on their strengths or weaknesses in 19 experiments related to protein research, from chromatography to ultrafast separations.Through the statistical analysis of the relevant data, they came to the following results and informed Weaver: the first was the Rockefeller Institute; the second was the Swedish research group in Stockholm; the third was Harvard; the next was the British research group in Cambridge .Caltech is definitely last in the ranking.This is not only due to the small number of experts engaged in protein research in the school, but also its research procedures are too focused on diffraction and immunochemistry, while ignoring other feasible research methods.
However, despite the low ranking of the Institute of Technology, Schmidt affirmed Pauling's research plan. "Much more important than research methods and research facilities are the people who do the research," he wrote to the foundation. A Pauling."
As a result, Weaver began to take a more enthusiastic attitude towards Pauling's plan.But the victory of the war had not yet come, and he and Pauling informally agreed to discuss in more detail after defeating Germany and Japan.
On the morning of Tuesday, August 7, 1945, Pauling walked into a grocery store near the Polytechnic Institute and stopped in front of the newspaper rack.The Pasadena paper's headline loomed before his eyes: "Japan Hit by Atomic Bomb." He bought a paper, went outside the store, and opened it, oblivious to the people and noise around him.The front page was full of reports about the bombing of Japan: the entire city of Hiroshima was flattened by a huge explosion, a huge fireball, thousands of civilian casualties.Pauling was shocked after reading it.In later years he would never forget that morning.
The Manhattan Project led by Oppenheimer was a success.And Oppenheimer himself tried to convince him to take part in that project.
Three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, another atomic bomb devastated Nagasaki.A few days later came the news of Japan's surrender.The war is over.In the days of celebrating the victory that followed, Pauling was amazed by the power of the atomic bomb to end the war, but did not give more consideration to the atomic bomb itself.His attention was focused on his own urgent research project.
A week after Victory Day, Pauling appeared in Weaver's office in New York, and this time he made a greater expansion of his previously proposed protein research grand plan.He proposed to build two new buildings, equipped with the latest and most expensive equipment - pH meter, ultracentrifuge, electron microscope and electrophoresis machine, but also equipped with bacteriology, pharmacology, enzyme chemistry and basic structure chemistry. Researchers.Pauling said that the problem of protein structure can only be solved by concentrating all efforts in many frontier fields to tackle key problems at the same time, and Caltech is the right place to carry out this research.Weaver was finally moved by Pauling's high-profile sales.He realized that Pauling absorbs living things.A multidisciplinary research program involving many specialists from the various disciplines of medicine and chemistry will result in a new institution that has never existed before: "In fact," Weaver points out, "it will be a School of Molecular Biology." Funding has now multiplied—$2 million for construction and about $6 million for research over 15 years—and Weaver still has a "very strong and widespread interest" in the project.
In addition to funding, there is another problem.Pauling's plan was based on the premise that the chemistry and biology departments of the Polytechnic Institute were closely linked.At that time, the operation of the biology department had difficulties.Since Dean Morgan retired; his longtime deputy, Alfred Stottvan, has taken the leadership of the department.This person is a good scientist, but lacks administrative skills and is not a good person.Pauling described him like this: "I think he is more interested in Drosophila than he is in anyone in the department." So, after Morgan left, the Department of Biology not only lost a backbone, but also lost a group of the best young researchers.
After talking with Weaver, Pauling clearly realized that the key to his grand plan lies in whether the biology department can be supported.He knows what to do, and has enough power to do it.
During the two years from mid-1944 to mid-1946, Pauling held an important position at Caltech.At that time, the principal Millikan was nearly eighty years old, and he had almost become an old antique in the scientific world.His presence represents a time when the scientific establishment was an ivory tower reserved for a certain class of people.Wars changed times, but Millikan's ideas remained the same.After the war, he still called for increased government support for the scientific "collectivist movement" and publicly opposed Oppenheimer's appointment, arguing that it would add another Jewish teacher to the Polytechnic.Millikan became a nuisance.The capable and astute chairman of the school board, Page, finally led a "palace coup" in 19M, depriving the principal of most of his decision-making power. In the summer of 1945, Millikan stepped down in desperation.Pauling thinks this is a thankfully good thing.
It takes a year to find and approve a new principal.During this time, the school was run by Page and an expanded executive committee of professors and trustees.Tolman was supposed to join the executive committee as a representative of the chemistry department, but he preferred to stay in Washington as a senior adviser to Geneva Bush and did not return west until 1947.In this way, Pauling was logically nominated as one of the five professor members of the executive committee, and soon became the most influential member.Pauling's wartime scientific research results were fruitful; with Millikan's departure, few people mentioned Pauling's bad performance before and after Neuss' death.At the same time, Pauling's reputation in the scientific research community was growing.On the one hand, almost no one knew how badly he was working on artificial antibodies, but on the other hand, his work on rocket propellants and propellant gunpowder was well known at the Polytechnic Institute.In addition, he had a close relationship with the Rockefeller Foundation. Under his leadership, the chemistry department received a large amount of funding during the war, and the staff increased greatly, resulting in strong morale.In contrast, the Department of Biology did not even get a seat on the Executive Committee due to the downturn.Pauling made full use of the disparity in power between the two departments and began to install his own people to lead the biology department.This is a person who understands his grand plan and can make it happen.
There is no one better suited to the job than Georgie Biddle in all of America.Pauling met Biddle in the 1930s.Biddle was one of a group of talented young geneticists gathered around Morgan at that time.Biddle and Pauling were similar in important ways: Both were friendly, hardworking country kids from small western towns (Biddle was born in Wowwood, Nebraska, and got the nickname "The Beet" as a child. ②); both are scholars who are willing to sponsor the Rockefeller Foundation; and both advocate a simplified way of studying biology, which is to regard life as a process of biochemical reactions, which was later adopted by the scientific Historian Leary Kay called it "the molecular theory of life".
①Biddle (George Wells Beadle, 1903&), an American geneticist and a pioneer of biochemical genetics, discovered the influence of genes on inheritance due to the determination of the structure of enzymes, and won the 1958 Nobel Prize with Tatum (Eward L.Tatum) Bell Prize in Medicine.
② Tianlai's English name is Beets, which is similar in pronunciation to his surname Beadle.
After working with Morgan for five years, Biddle left Caltech to seek to advance the study of genetics to a new level.While Morgan had succeeded in pinpointing the location of various genes on chromosomes using fruit flies, Biddle wanted to learn more about how genes work, figuring out the biochemical pathways that connect a certain part of a chromosome to eye color or leaf shape.When Biddle began this research, there was no precise understanding of what a "gene" was made of and what it did.For example, does a single gene control the entire biochemical chain that leads to a certain physical trait, or just one link in the chain?During the war, Biddle, who taught at Stanford, and his colleague Tatum,1 sought answers by studying mutants of a common bread mold called Streptomyces sp.Their classic experiments showed that each gene controls a biochemical reaction, and each reaction is regulated by a specific enzyme.They summarized their research results into the following incisive conclusion: "One gene, one enzyme." Biddle thus stood at the forefront of American genetics.Biddle was not only an experimentalist, but, like Pauling, he knew how to make his work attractive to funding agencies.During the war, he promoted his mutant mold as a biological probe in nutritional and agricultural research.It was a politically clever move, and he received ample funding from both the Rockefeller Foundation and the government.His research continued to expand, and he even attracted two of Caltech's best geneticists to Stanford. In 1944, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
① Tatum (Ewald L. Tatum, 1909-1975), an American biochemist, studied the ways in which genetic mutations affect the nutritional requirements of bacteria, yeasts, and molds, which helped to create molecular genetics, and GW. Beadle ) won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1958.
Biddle knew how to run a department, how to do research at the highest level, and how to get paid.Pauling, however, valued Biddle's approach to biology more.Biddle firmly believed that genetics could not be dissociated from chemistry—more precisely, from biochemistry.The two disciplines are "two doors into the same room," he said.
Pauling is waiting for him in this "room"!At Pauling's urging, Stottfan invited his old friend Biddle to teach at the Polytechnic Institute in the spring of 1945.When Biddle declined, Pauling proposed to Stottfan that the solution to the problem was for him to resign as the head of the biology department and invite Biddle to take over.Perhaps realizing that he was not good at administrative management, or that he could not bear the grand plan in Pauling's mind, Stottfan finally agreed to resign.But Beet remained hesitant.Pauling then personally took the train to Stanford to have friendly talks with him.Stottvan wrote to Biddle, warning him "don't listen to Pauling's rhetoric and do anything you don't want to do. I say this out of fear that Pauling will exert undue pressure on you."
Pauling certainly did not hesitate to use all possible means.Neither he nor Biddle wasted time and were straightforward.They sat across from each other in Biddle's office at Stanford, and Pauling detailed his grand plan.He used the technical term "chemical biology" to describe his proposal and focused on convincing Biddle on one point: the two of them—one as the head of the high-achieving chemistry department and the other as the rejuvenated The chairs of the Department of Biology—working together at Caltech—can successfully tackle the great mystery of life in a way that cannot be accomplished by any other research institution in the world.Pauling predicted the research prospects of post-war biology: the whole biology will enter a period of comprehensive renewal, through the close combination with chemistry and the in-depth understanding of the molecular structure of macromolecules, enzymes and genes that make up life, biology will undergo a revolution sexual change.This would be an excellent time to figure out how life works at the molecular level.And, Pauling went on, the Rockefeller Foundation is now very interested in such subjects.If a biology department is chaired by a prestige expert like Biddle, then the possibility of receiving unprecedented high funding is very high.Pauling also predicted some specific amounts.
Two weeks later, Biddle accepted the position of chair of Caltech's biology department.
A month later, in December 1945, a 25-page grant application sat on Weaver's desk.The report was signed by both Biddle and Pauling, but was actually written almost exclusively by Pauling.
The report expounds the action plan for collaborative research on "a major biological problem in the next 20 years" using molecular biology methods, and puts forward a clear slogan to welcome the arrival of a new era of science.In drafting the report, Pauling used the graphic, graphic language that Weaver often employs when pitching his case to his directors.He writes that a "black forest of the unknown" remains indistinguishable under powerful electron microscopes, and solving these unknowns is beyond the reach of crystallographers.Here is the uncharted territory of protein molecular structure that humans need to explore. Pauling and Biddle are at the forefront of "this expedition armed with X-rays and similar equipment... Many fundamental questions in biology- The nature of life processes, the basic principles of macromolecules, gene and cell replication mechanisms and highly specialized interactions between them, the mode of action of enzymes, the physiological activity mechanisms of drugs, hormones, vitamins and other chemicals, nerve and The structure of brain organization and the way it works—the answers to all these questions lie hidden in the unknown regions of this vast forest...Only by going deep into this unknown region can we hope to trace the source and find out the answers."This research team will include chemists, a few related physicists, and a new class of molecular biologists being developed at Caltech who will naturally see the life sciences as chemistry and physics promotion of learning.Research work needs to be equipped with the latest technology and equipment: ultracentrifuges, chromatographs, spectrometers, electron microscopes, radioactive tracers, etc. "complex and very expensive instruments and equipment, the best equipment that can be manufactured ...", These technological devices will help transform biology into a quantitative science. "A problem cannot be solved by a certain method alone, but each method should be used to the extreme."
There will be rich rewards: not only the structure of proteins and the molecular mechanism of biochemical reactions will be clarified, but also a new era of biology will be ushered in. "We believe that the biological sciences are entering a period of as great a revolutionary development as physics and chemistry have experienced in the past 35 years," Pauling wrote.
Pauling went on to talk about the funding required.They need to build two new buildings, and the cost of construction can be raised from the directors of the polytechnic.However, equipment fees, headcount fees, and long-term management fees need to be provided by the Rockefeller Foundation.He estimates that the total amount of various funds required is US$ 400,000 per year, extending for 15 years, totaling US$ 6 million.
This is the largest application for a single scientific research grant submitted by Caltech since its establishment, and it is also the largest application that Weaver has seen.
A week after grant applications arrived in Weaver's office, Biddle visited Weaver with trepidation, but he quickly felt relieved.He wrote to Pauling: "I don't need any more publicity for him. This guy is now raving about Caltech with more enthusiasm than anyone I've ever met." $6 million looks like" It's really expensive for him."On the whole, however, Weaver thinks it's "a grand plan."Weaver assured the foundation that he would try his best to persuade the foundation, but warned the polytechnic pair: it will take more than a short-term effort to obtain such a large grant.As they waited for approval, Biddle and Pauling knocked on the doors of other funding agencies.Before long, various grants to support the research began flowing into the Polytechnic Institute: a five-year, $300,000 grant from the National Polio Relief Foundation, and various smaller grants from the Public Health Service and other groups. funding.
Despite Weaver's strong support for the application, the Rockefeller Foundation had difficulty finding consensus.As the foundation debated the merits of the project, Weaver secured a sizable temporary grant: $50,000 a year in 1946 and 1947.With this grant and multiple grants from various sources—government, industry, foundations, and some for cancer research—Biddle and Pauling finally had enough money to Opened decently.By 1947, the total budget of the chemistry department had doubled from what it had been six years earlier, and that of the biology department had nearly quadrupled.
For as long as two years, the Rockefeller Foundation's board of directors has been hesitant about whether to fund large-scale projects.This debate is closely related to the broader question of the role of foundations in postwar research.The general environment for research funding changed rapidly as governments poured money into wartime research programmes.Large-scale government support for basic science will undoubtedly continue in some form, so foundations no longer need to fund large projects like the Pauling Plan as they did before the war.Moreover, since the emergence of the concept of so-called "human science" during the Great Depression, the purpose of the foundation to serve society has also changed.Its funding focus shifted from basic science to agriculture and social sciences, especially research projects that would advance the development of countries considered democratic bases and anti-communist outposts for decades to come.
Against such a background, no matter how good a basic scientific research project of such a large scale as the Pauling Project is, the hope of obtaining funding is very slim.During the discussion of the board of directors, the amount of funding was continuously reduced, and finally reached a conclusion in 1948: funding of 100,000 US dollars a year, a total of seven years.
That was a fraction of the $6 million Pauling had dreamed of.Still, it's one of the highest single grants Caltech has ever received, and the highest foundation grants for basic research since the war.These funds have made Pauling's chemistry department one of the wealthiest in the country, and are sufficient to support the implementation of Pauling's plan for a long period of time.With this money and other private sponsors, with the close cooperation and leadership of Pauling and Biddle, and with a group of outstanding young scientists they have attracted to join, Caltech is expected to develop into the national molecular biology university in the next ten years. It is the cradle of a new discipline and is expected to become one of the most important bases in the world.
What is the reason for these achievements?Weaver believes, "This is entirely the credit of Biddle and Pauling. They are like two cohesive cores, around which new ideas are constantly generated and exchanged, just like various types of shared electrons in a molecular system. It’s like the two centers rotate and transpose each other with a certain frequency. As far as I know, this advantage is not available in any other school.”
Jam and Pig Food
However, using chemical bonds to describe the relationship between Biddle and Pauling is not very appropriate.The two of them got along well and developed a close working relationship between Caltech's chemistry and biology departments.Faculty from the two departments participate in each other's seminars and often consult and help each other across disciplinary boundaries.But the emergence of this united front is not mainly due to the need for joint research, but to strive for more funding.Once the funding from the Rockefeller Foundation was received, Pauling and Biddle basically carried out research independently of each other according to their respective directions.The relationship between them is not so much mutual communication, but another word is more appropriate to describe it, and this word is "complementarity".In the postwar years, molecular complementarity became Pauling's fundamental object of study.
Complementarity is a concept derived from Pauling's immunology research.Pauling explained the connection between antibody and antigen as a certain precise molecular coordination; a kind of complementary and seamless meshing makes the atoms at the contact surface of the two extremely close, thus forming a weak van der Waals force.Pauling's explanation provided a way to understand other biological phenomena.Pauling began to realize that life at the molecular level is mainly a kind of specificity, that is, molecules in the body can recognize certain target molecules and can only combine with these target molecules.Between antibodies and antigens, between enzymes and their substrates and genes, and between the protein derivatives produced by them, they all recognize each other in a mysterious way and only connect with specific objects.The mechanism for this delicate biological specificity is unknown, but Pauling believes that the idea of using precise complementary shapes as a starting point provides the key to understanding it.
Pauling realized that the main achievement of his research on antibodies was to show the relationship between molecular structure and biological specificity.Before his death in 1943, Landsteiner asked Pauling to write a chapter on the chemical basis of specificity for a new edition of his monograph on immunology.Pauling named this chapter "Molecular Structure and Molecular Force", which briefly summarized his mechanism of protein molecules being able to recognize and bind specific target molecules, providing an introductory introduction for readers who want to understand the theory .Pauling emphasized that molecular shape is everything.Precise, complementary, tightly fitting shapes hold molecules together and hold them together through cumulative weak bonds.And chemical reactions, as most chemists think, are all about the formation of strong covalent or ionic bonds through specific reactions between molecules, so they are completely different from weak bond mechanisms.
Published in 1945, this chapter not only elucidated for the first time the relationship between modern structural chemistry and immunology, but also provided the first eloquent demonstration of the fact that most if not all biological phenomena occur at the molecular level Can be explained through the creative application of accepted chemical principles.Since this part of the content was published in a monograph on immunology, it did not cause much repercussions in the chemical community, but it had a huge impact on young biologists and immunologists who read this book after the war.For example, later Nobel laureates.According to immunologist Joshua Lederberg, this chapter is one of Pauling's most important works, and it is a book for inexperienced molecular biologists to understand Instructions for a wide range of complex issues.
Attributing immune specificity to the idea that molecules can take precise complementary forms is not only in line with the theory proposed by Pauling and Delbrück in their paper published in 1940, but also in line with Pauling and Mosky's assumptions about protein structure : Proteins are chain-like molecules of precise shape held together by hydrogen bonds.However, the idea has applicability far beyond immunology.
In 1944, Schrödinger (who was living in Dublin at the time) published a pamphlet titled What is Life? ".Since the author is recognized as the father of the wave equation, the book immediately attracted attention after its publication.However, this is a strange book.Schrödinger wanted to extend his original imagination to solve big biological problems in a slightly poetic way.In Pauling's view, the book is full of vague reasoning.In the book, Schrödinger puts forward a paradox that has been difficult to answer for a long time: why can those orderly life systems exist and reproduce in the universe tending to the maximum entropy?He believed that the phenomena of life could not be explained by the classical laws of physics.So he proposed a new concept called "negative entropy".Organic matter can resist disintegration when it somehow draws energy from this as-yet-undiscovered substance.Within this theoretical framework, Schrödinger proposed that genes should be self-replicating "non-periodic crystals".Despite the ambiguity of the theory itself, the book had a huge influence on young physicists in the postwar period, many of whom turned to biology, dedicating themselves to the study of the cytoplasm of living cells in hopes of discovering new discoveries. laws of physics.
Pauling considered the book "pig food".No one can prove the existence of this so-called "negative entropy".Genes are by no means "aperiodic crystals" as Schrödinger claimed, but most likely protein chains, a structure that can stably exist in the body in several different forms.Pauling commenting on "What is Life?" "This booklet said: "Schrödinger's thermodynamic discussion is very vague and superficial, even as a popular reading is misleading. Whether in the past or now, I think that Schrödinger has no contribution to our correct understanding of life phenomena."
Pauling had his own more accessible interpretation of the nature of life. "Schrödinger believed that living matter works in a way that cannot be explained by the ordinary laws of physics, and that the atoms in an organism interact in a different way than in inanimate matter," Pauling wrote to a friend. I don't think such a difference will really be discovered." In Pauling's view, life can be boiled down to "having some specific characteristics and inheriting these characteristics to their offspring", and the life process is just a kind of The specificity of molecules can be explained clearly by chemical principles.
While Schrödinger was embracing his negentropic dreams, Pauling was inspired by jams.在厨房里孩子丢弃的一只果酱瓶的外壁上，他看到了分子互补性理论的实实在在的证据。残留在瓶里的果酱经过几天之后，周围出现了少量酒石酸氢钾的小晶体，这是葡萄酱的一种组成成分。这一难解之谜的焦点是，酒石酸氢钾的分子怎么知道从果酱千千万万颗分子中分离出来，然后仅仅跟同类分子聚集在一起，自行组成次序井然、纯度极高的晶格？按照鲍林的观点，毫无疑问这是分子的互补性结构在起作用。一种化学元素的少量分子堆集在一起将发挥晶种的作用，在晶种的表面存在很多空隙，留待新的分子去充填。但是只有同种分子才能紧密地嵌人。酒石酸氢钾的分子排列起来而形成的空隙只能由同类的分子去充填，其他元素的分子不是太大和形状不对，就是太小，以至飘移不定，难以长时间作稳定停留。按照热力学理论，应该存在如纯晶体这样的分子排列最为紧密的结构，而不大可能是分子随机排列的结果。无需借助新的自然规律，完美的晶体就能从葡萄酱中生成。这也是地面上、岩洞中和海洋里各种晶体生成的方式，其生成条件比生命机体内的条件要平常得多。既然如此，在生命机体内高温和奇特的化学环境里，为什么不能发生不同寻常的化学反应呢？
鲍林相信：“我们远远没有达到平衡态，因此在不违反热力学定律的情况下，那些看来很不可能的反应也可能发生。这类反应往往依赖于品种或模板的存在，它们决定着反应的方向。我们在无生命的世界里已经看到了这样的例子，其反应机制与生命机体内的反应机制是相同的，这就是丝丝入扣的分子互补性。”
鲍林认识到，没有必要补充新的定律，他看到了一个伟大的新理论体系的雏形：将他关于无机晶体学的理论和观点推广到整个生物学中去，利用现代物理化学相结合而产生的那些概念和理论，可以把整个宇宙统一起来。鲍林认为：“我们可以这样说，生命过程从无生命过程借用了同样的基本机制，这就是用来生成晶体这种奇妙结构的机制，”这个化学大一统理论适用于从矿物到人体的各种对象，精妙绝伦。鲍林坚信，他正走在正确的轨道上；他的直觉告诉他自己没有错。
1945年以后，分子生物学对鲍林的重要性和吸引力已不亚于晶体结构和化学键理论，他把过去投入其他领域并使他取得突出成就的聪明才智和干劲带进了这个新的学科。他花费大量时间，广泛阅读内容涉及生物化学、生理学、遗传学和酶学的各种杂志，还读一点细菌学和微生物学。他寻找突破口，即那些能够应用结构化学理论来回答生物学问题的最易于突破的领域。
最初选择的目标是酶。许多重要的生化反应似乎都发生在条件极差的环境里，其反应速度难以用普通化学定律来解释。人们认为这是由于酶的中介作用促成的。酶是一类可作为生物催化剂的蛋白分子，它能在保持自身不变的情况下加快反应进程。大多数化学反应的进程可以比拟为火车翻越山坡，首先注入一定量的能——活性能——用来激活初始反应物到达山顶，这时反应物已吸收了足够的能量发生化合或分解，或者产生其他各种变化，然后反应生成物沿着能量曲线的下降方向下滑到一种新的稳定态。催化剂的作用好比降低山坡的高度，即减少引发化学反应所需的活化能量。山坡越低，化学反应就开始得越快。当然，作用是两方面的；较低的山坡也使得反应生成物更易发生逆向反应重新组成初始反应物。总效应依赖于双方的相对浓度：如果反应物多于生成物，催化剂将推动反应向一个方向进行，形成更多的生成物，直至双方的浓度达到相等为止。在生物体内，通过加速形成生成物或者消耗生成物，酶化学反应将沿着正确的方向进行下去。
酶还具有高度的特异性，每一种酶仅能对一对反应物和生成物发挥作用。以消化液中的胰蛋白酶为例，它的作用是催化将蛋白质链分割成小段的过程。然而，它在链上的作用点是精确定位的：仅仅在两种特殊的氨基酸连接处发生作用，而决不会在别处。对鲍林来说，这种特异性很易理解：酶与抗体一样，其形状只与目标分子相匹配，也就是说，酶具有一种互补性结构。那么，与什么物质互补呢？鲍林注意到，酶在由反应物形成生成物以及由生成物重新构成反应物这两个方向上均能发挥作用。“酶必需在两个相反的反应方向上均发挥加速作用，这个事实告诉我，与酶互补的物质必定是位于反应物与生成物中间的某种中介物质，”鲍林说道。鲍林的假设与一种被酶化学家称为“活化复合体”的假设性物质有关。这种活化复合体生成于反应物与生成物的中间变化位置上，它在酶化学反应过程中仅能存在几分之一秒的时间。鲍林接着说道：“酶为什么能使化学反应的速度提高一千万倍之多？这个问题的答案是十分明显的——至少对我来说是这样，那就是，酶必需具备降低活化能的能力——即降低生成活化复合体的能量的能力。而要降低活化能，酶可通过与活化复合体形成强键而与反应物和生成物只形成弱键的途径来实现。”鲍林认为，酶的键接点与目标分子有适当紧密度的啮合，使之可以比较松弛地拉住目标分子，而当目标分子慢慢滑进一个被折弯或拉紧的位置时，两者的啮合就变得十分紧密。酶的作用点像一把分子钳，它把目标分子折弯，使之易于断裂成很多小段。这些被断开的目标分子的形状与酶的键接点仅有部分的互补性，啮合变得松动起来，从而变得易于飘浮并与酶分开。鲍林还认为，相反的过程也完全可能发生，即酶松弛地联结住生成物分子，使他们聚集在一起，从而缓慢地进行逆反应过程，重新生成初始反应物，所有这些反应均是通过形状的互补性实现的。
鲍林对酶的作用机制所作的描述与他的关于抗体的理论是完全一致的。这一切还只是开了一个头。不久，他又提出了这样的理论和观点：味觉与嗅觉也是由被感物的分子与身体内部特定位置之间的互补性匹配产生的（这一理论至今在气味学研究者中间仍有很大的影响）。还有所谓的行为性病毒，这是一种有点介于可结晶蛋白分子和生命机体之间的奇异的物质形式（鲍林把它们称为“逃脱了父母机体控制的基因”），鲍林认为也可从互补性理论出发对它们作出解释。
鲍林猜测，基因可能是一种很大、很复杂的蛋白分子，它能够通过一种称为自催化的过程，精确地复制自己。他早在1940年就与德尔布吕克合写了一篇论文，论及关于基因复制的一种可能的一般性机制。到了1945年与1947年期间，鲍林在互补性理论的框架内对这个问题进行了更多的思考。到1948年，他设计了一种最简单的基因复制的一般模型。“我们对基因或病毒分子进行自我复制的机制尚不清楚有关的细节”，鲍林在一次互补性理论的报告会上这样对听众说。“一般来说，使用某种基因或病毒作为模板不能复制出与模板完全相同的分子，而只能生成与模板互补的分子。当然可能出现这样的情况：在某种模板上生成的分子既与模板同构，又同时与模板互补……假如作为模板的基因或病毒分子有两个互补的部分组成，那末每一部分可以复制出与另一部分同构的分子。于是，由两个互补部分组成的复合体就可以作为复制自身的模型。”在正式发现DNA的双螺旋结构四年之前，鲍林就已经这样明确地作出了基因可能具有双螺旋结构的预测。
鲍林实际上已经为分子生物学的结构理论奠定了基础。在这之后，他又把注意力转向了医学。战争期间，鲍林对医学的兴趣，从原先的肾病、抗体、血浆代用品等问题，进一步扩及到其他方面，他开始思考药物的结构，营养品的效能，他甚至提出这样的意见：有几种退化性疾病也许是由于红血球的堆集而引起的。有一个阶段，他还考虑在加州理工学院成立一个基础医学研究所，以便对他关于生物分子的结构和作用的设想进行试验。鲍林同样认为，分子互补性理论可以在这些问题的研究中发挥重要的作用。
战争即将结束之时，鲍林被任命为帕尔默委员会的成员。这是一个由医学专家组成的小组，鲍林是其中唯一的例外。该委员会遵照科学研究与发展局局长布什的指示，开会研究战后如何对医学研究进行资助。1945年春，该委员会在纽约的世纪俱乐部举行了一次午餐会。讨论过程中，医生们谈到了一种鲜为人知的被称为镰状细胞贫血症的血液病。来自哈佛的医药教授卡塞尔解释说，病的名称来源于病人的红血球从扁平的圆盘状畸变为弯曲的月牙状。这些镰刀形的红血球阻塞小血管，引发一系列；临床症状：由于缺乏红血球输氧而引起骨头和腹部疼痛，并在肺部、肾脏和脑部形成血块。卡塞尔教授还指出一个奇怪的现象，那就是在返回肺部的静脉血中有着比富氧的动脉血中更多的镰状红血球。
鲍林听后，怦然心动。他从自己对血红蛋白的研究中得知，红血球几乎只包含血红蛋白和水两种物质。如果缺氧和富氧都会影响到血液细胞的形状是否平整，那末血红蛋白——这是一种固氧分子——也许会在里面起作用。其他委员围坐在桌边抽烟交谈，鲍林却坐在一旁陷入沉思。他的脑子里出现了血红蛋白分子的形象，这是一种球状的、一头有点细长的蛋白分子，有点像粗短的圆柱体。假设某种东西改变了血红蛋白分子表面的形状，而这种形状与另一个血红蛋白分子表面的某一部分的形状是互补的，那末形状互补的分子就会粘连。如果形状的改变出现在分子的两端，那末这些分子就会首尾相接地连接起来，从而在红血球内部形成长的链。一旦足够多的链再互相连接，就能生成类似血红蛋白晶体的物质，从而将血细胞扭曲成镰状。但是氧气在这过程中起了什么作用呢？he asked himself.他想，把氧固定在血红蛋白中必定会改变分子的形状，以至分子的粘接点处发生畸变或被遮蔽。加进氧则防止镰状发生；取出氧则加剧镰状扭曲。鲍林茅塞顿开。他把自己的想法向大家作了解释，进一步向卡塞尔问了几个有关镰状细胞贫血症的问题，最后他问各位医生是否赞成他回到帕萨迪纳后进行一些正常血红蛋白和镰状细胞血红蛋白的对比试验。卡塞尔表示可以试试，至于其他大多数医生都不大懂得鲍林所说的东西，因为他们在结构化学方面的知识少得可怜。
这一段时期，也许由于他自己曾经生过一回的布赖特氏病（肾小球肾炎），医学问题在鲍林的脑海里一直占据着突出的位置。血液问题、治病问题均与他的关于互补性的新理论交织起来了。互补性理论也许还可以用来解释药物的作用呢！1940年，一个英国研究人员提出磺胺类药物之所以能抑制细菌感染，是由于它伪装成细菌的食品源而取代了细菌所需的代谢物，实质上是把细菌饿死了。这个机制在理论上是说得通的，因为药物在结构上与代谢物很接近。同许多学者一样，鲍林也认为两种物质竞相争夺活细胞的某个键接点将成为研制新药的中心概念。1947年10月，他在耶鲁大学的一次报告会上说：“当人类有能力详细确定疾病的媒介生物的分子结构以及人体细胞成分的分子结构的时候，就有可能针对每种疾病确定相应的化学药物的特定配方，然后再根据配方，合成药物，保护人类免受那种疾病的侵袭。”
到这个阶段，鲍林确信他的互补性理论已足够解释所有的生物特异性。他已找到了一种通过标准的化学语汇来解释生命本质的方法。从酶的作用到基因的复制等各种生命现象，用不到寻找新的物理定律，鲍林一次性地给出了合理的解释。生命从其根源来说，就是一种精确的分子结构。鲍林的这种朴实的观点以及他从化学角度对生命现象作出的解释，成为20世纪科学史上最深刻的发现之一。鲍林的理论确立了分子结构理论的中心地位，并成为通向分子生物学的发展道路上一座重要的里程碑。鲍林预言，分子生物学的基础将是互补性分子的相互作用理论。
然而，在那个时候，似乎没有人认真听他讲话，说得确切一点，是大多数人对他所讲的内容的重要性不甚了了，他们缺乏必要的知识理解它。40年代后期的生物学家对物理化学这门学科只懂得一点皮毛，而多数化学家又从来不把蛋白质看作是化学物质。分子生物学家亚历山大·里奇这么评述：“当时的大多数生物化学家不知道何谓范德瓦尔斯力，也不知道氢键和静电势。”鲍林跨越了这么多学科的界限，使用了这么多种不同的科学语言，只有一小部分学者能够听懂他的报告。
其次，他所讲的东西尚未经过验证。到那时为止，还没有研究者确定过任何一种蛋白质的氨基酸链，也没有结构化学家或晶体学家即或只是粗略地描画过鲍林所说的那种互补性形状。蛋白质的详细形状仍然是一个谜。当时已知其三维构形，且与蛋白质稍微有点关系的物质，只是由鲍林小组研究确定的几种氨基酸分子和肽分子。无人知道基因是怎样形成的，更不知道它是怎样工作的。有关酶作用的可靠数据刚刚开始发表。在对蛋白质结构的细节知之甚少的情况下，可以进行各种猜测，但很难作出明确的判断。鲍林自己也认识到这种情况，因而每每在结束报告时，总要指出当务之急是对蛋白质的形成过程进行更深入的探讨。在这一时机到来之前，鲍林仅限于口头报告自己的见解，不想写成论文到那些要对文章进行评审的杂志上发表，尽管后者的影响要大得多，比如可产生如同他关于变性和抗体结构的论文那样的重大影响。鲍林要等到他的一般性理论有了更多的实验结果作为佐证的时候才写成论文发表，战争一结束，鲍林即指派尼曼对他关于酶的假设进行实验验证，但这个青年学者很快失去了兴趣，转而从事其他工作了。此后，鲍林一直在努力寻找适当的人员开展镰状细胞血红蛋白的研究。
在此过程中，鲍林始终坚信自己所走的道路是正确的。他在1947年这样说：“有关生物力来自结构互补性的理论存在着非常有力的证据，并且我认为分子互补性很可能是机体内部形成生物特异性的唯一机制。”到1948年，他告诉公众：“我相信我们可以利用分子结构理论来理解生命机体的这些性质，并弄清楚生命的本质（但意识除外）。”
人生的峰巅
鲍林和比德尔是代表战后美国科学事业乐观向上和兴旺发达的两个著名人物。第二次世界大战以后，美国在基础科研方面占据了世界上无可争议的领先地位。德国科技界在希特勒的统治下陷于瘫痪，战争也使欧洲许多重要的研究中心遭到了严重破坏。那些未遭破坏的，比如著名的剑桥卡文迪什实验室，也已经日薄西山，经费窘迫。在那些致力解决温饱和恢复战争创伤的国家里，基础科学不可能被置于优先考虑的位置。
然而，在战后的美国，科学家们却处于金钱和荣誉的包围之中。他们被尊为民族英雄，他们发明的火箭、雷达和炸弹帮助联军赢得了战争。在战后的欢庆氛围中，他们倍受人们的崇拜。科学家——特别是原子能专家——的事迹频频出现在报刊杂志上，他们应邀到俱乐部演讲，参加国会山的鸡尾酒会并成为引人注目的贵宾。这真是一个令人陶醉的年代。
深受其益的美国政府醉心于创造一个由取之不尽的原子能支撑起来的繁荣富裕的新时代，打算继续大力资助科学研究。以前无力开展的几百万美元的大项目，其中最突出的如原子对撞机和核反应堆，突然都得到了批准。要是能提供足够的经费，那末只要一声令下，谁知道科学家又会创造出怎样的奇迹呢？
1945年，罗斯福病逝，杜鲁门接任总统。他上任后最先做的事情之一就是要求布什——他作为科学研究和发展局局长组织了战时的科研工作——准备一份关于战后科研发展计划的报告。布什并没有简单地以一纸公文应付了事，而是把这当作改变战后科学事业面貌的大好机会来认真对待。他召开各种专家小组会议（包括医学研究方面的帕尔默委员会会议，鲍林也应邀参加），让专家们就不同的研究领域提出建议，然后集思广益，汇总成一份有很强说服力的长篇综合性文件，他把文件定名为“科学——广阔无垠的疆域”。计划的最后提出了建立国家研究基金的建议。通过该项基金，由专家小组来决定如何分配纳税人的钱，以便在决定项目资助时排除政治压力的影响。布什指出，只有通过这种方式，即由科学家向科学家发放经费，才能使由政府资助的基础科研不受外界干预，有关学者就能自由地开展研究活动。议会里的批评者指责该计划缺乏根据，并抓住布什建议的拨款数字大作文章。布什建议，第一年科研拨款3300万美元，以后逐年递增，到第五年增加到12000万美元以上。一位议员很快给计划起了个别名“科学——无穷无尽的开支”。鲍林与此相反，热情地支持布什的计划。他特别关注战争带来的在培养青年科学工作者方面的断层——1945年，加州理工学院的学生中只有六个专攻化学——他相信必须由政府干预才能纠正这种状况。如果不采取措施，或采取措施不及时，就有可能造成人才短缺、后继乏人的局面。鲍林甚至建议像战时征兵那样征集美国青年参加科学训练计划，或者更现实一些，通过拟议中的研究基金把经费转拨到科学教育中去，这样就能避免幕后交易降低项目质量，而按照鲍林的观点，这是许多政府项目的共同特征。鲍林参加了全国性的“支持布什报告委员会”，在布什计划交付议会立案后，鲍林还参与组织了声援集会和写支持信的运动。
战后时期，鲍林很快变成了一个具有很高知名度和影响力的科学家。战前，鲍林关于化学键的理论真正懂的人还不多，然而现在，由于他的专着《化学键的本质》影响日隆，很多人能跟上他了。他的这本著作成为战后研究生和青年学者，特别是那些从事分子结构研究的人的必读书。
1947年，鲍林完成了全一册的大学化学通用教科书《普通化学》。该书的问世产生了巨大的影响，成为化学教育史上的一个里程碑。《普通化学》是第一本全面按照量子物理理论撰写的大学化学入门教材，又是第一本把读者从一般的理论原则——从他的键价理论开始——逻辑地引导到丰富的客观实例的教本，还是第一本用化学键和分子结构理论作为主线组织全部内容的化学著作。鲍林采用他一贯的通俗易懂、生动活泼的写作风格，并首次附加插图，其中就有在他指导下由插图家海怀德绘制的十几幅精确的化学结构图，使分子结构直观地显现在读者面前。在他这本著作中，分子不再是抽象的符号，而成了带有自己个性的活生生的对象，每种分子都有自己的大小、形状和独特的结构。
这本书推动了大学化学课程的改革。由于鲍林本人崇高的声誉，教材一出版就被广泛采用。当教师进一步发现新教材的优越性后，这本书就更受欢迎了；不过，对于原定的读者对象来说，这可不符事实。《普通化学》是鲍林根据他理工学院教一年级化学时的讲稿整理而成的，对其他大学的一年级化学课程来说，其中很多内容过深过难。经过几年的使用，这本书最终成为一本更适合于高年级学生使用的畅销教材。它的各个版本销路极广，以至出版此书的旧金山弗里曼出版公司也大出风头，从原来默默无闻的小公司一跃而成全美教科书的重要出版商之一。本书的广泛传播还使鲍林的名字走进成千上万在战后时期涌进大学的青年学子的心中，成了现代化学的代名词。
这本书的版税也使鲍林初尝富豪之味。从此开始，他有钱享受舒适豪华的生活。他有钱在他位于山坡上的寓所院子里建造一个大型游泳池——孩子们称它是“用《普通化学》建造的池子”。他有钱经常出外旅游。随着身体的好转和声誉日盛，他应邀外出讲学和开会的次数也与日俱增，他的孩子越来越难见到他了。他的工作日程又被排得满满的，以至他对家人明确规定，除了吃饭，不准以任何事情打扰他。为了适应他的繁忙工作，全家的生活节奏都被打乱了。他家的一天一般是这样度过的：清晨，鲍林醒来后立即步入书房，爱娃则忙着为孩子们张罗早餐。孩子们吃完早饭，爱娃按书房门铃通知鲍林用餐。早餐后，鲍林驾车离家赴理工学院上班，有时顺路把孩子们带去上学。下午3点左右鲍林回家，有时顺路捎带一个孩子回来。回家后他立即把自己关进书房，在那里工作，看报或听新闻广播，直到海伦按铃通知他吃晚饭。饭后帮助收拾完盘子，他又进入书房，孩子们上床睡觉后，他仍在书房工作。
不管是工作日还是周末，鲍林都是这样工作的。实际上，孩子们与他交谈的唯一机会是搭车去学校或者回家的路上。这时候，鲍林会问一些与功课有关的问题考考他们。他对克莱林的聪明伶俐印象很深，这个小男孩有时会玩弄小聪明使鲍林惊喜不已。小克莱林非常希望鲍林像人家小朋友的父亲一样，跟他一起玩耍，周末带他外出度假，但是鲍林做不到这点。小克莱林放学回家后，只能偷偷地躲在父亲书房的门外，听父亲对着一架录音机口授文稿。克莱林回忆说，他小时候关于父亲的最深印象就是“他一回到家里，就对著录音机里的'逗号'先生说话。”
在鲍林的名声节节上升之时，一些重要的老一辈化学家开始陆续谢世。曾经耐心教会鲍林Ｘ射线晶体学的迪金森于1945年英年早逝。第二年，鲍林的导师、楷模和朋友路易斯在做实验的时候猝死于突发性心脏病，被人发现时已蜷缩在实验桌下面。鲍林说，“他的死对我是一个巨大的打击。”1948年托尔曼死于脑溢血，这离他复员回到理工学院仅一年时间。
领导权开始转移到鲍林一代人手里。为加州理工学院在1946年初开始物色人选接替密立根的院长职务时，至少有一个支持者提出了鲍林的名字，这个支持者就是爱娃·海伦。她对每一个愿意倾听的人宣传鲍林是一个十分杰出的院长人选。然而鲍林本人倒不大愿意让行政工作来耗费他的生命，因此并没有为得到这个职务而进行游说。董事会最终聘任杜布里奇接替密立根担任加州理工学院院长。此人是鲍林的同一代人，一位熟练的行政管理者，他曾经在麻省理工学院的放射实验室领导了雷达的研制工作。
身居高位，受人尊敬，生活富足，鲍林开始过上了一个领衔科学家的优裕生活。他经常外出旅游，应邀讲学，接受嘉奖，还指导别人在他感兴趣的领域里开展研究工作。免疫化学仍然是鲍林倾心喜爱的研究领域之一，此时坎贝尔在一位杰出的博士后普莱斯曼的协助下，正在为最后确定抗原和抗体的相互作用而加紧工作。鲍林对这项工作倾注了极大的热情，并投入了大量的经费。他还指导依泰诺进行镰状细胞血红蛋白的研究。依泰诺是一个刚毕业的医学博士，他希望在鲍林的指导下再得一个哲学博士学位。鲍林公开宣布他正在寻找有志于从事基础研究的青年医师做他的研究助手。他还把科里召回身边，继续从事氨基酸和小肽分子的结构研究。
鲍林喜欢外出巡回演讲，并有很多这样的机会。化学家开始明白，鲍林对化学的贡献直接改善了他们的待遇。于是鲍林开始得到各种各样的奖励。在战后的几年里，鲍林获得了化学界几种最高的奖项：美国化学学会（东北地区）授予的理查兹勋章；美国化学学会（芝加哥地区）授予的吉布斯勋章，还有英国皇家学会授予的戴维勋章。
戴维勋章对鲍林具有特别重要的意义，因为它意味着鲍林的成功不仅在国内，而且在国际上也得到了承认。鲍林回忆说，战后他在英国的声誉“非常高”，原因之一是由于他对硅酸盐结构的研究成果超过了劳伦斯·布拉格的成果（布拉格那时正领导着著名的剑桥卡文迪什实验室）；另一个原因是由于德高望重的牛津大学化学家瑟奇维克对他的支持。瑟奇维克1931年访问美国时对鲍林的成就印象极深，通过他编着的英国化学书籍，更多的人开始了解鲍林的键价理论。
1947年，在瑟奇维克的大力促成下，鲍林从英国获得了另一项很高的荣誉：牛津大学为期一年的伊斯曼教授职位，由校方支付所有费用，包括随行家属的费用。鲍林很高兴去牛津，但是一年的时间对他来说太长了。他告诉瑟奇维克和牛津校方，他将很高兴从1948年的1月到7月，即该学年的第二、第三学期，到牛津大学讲学。成行之前出现了一个小麻烦：伊斯曼教授职位只能授予牛津大学硕士学位获得者，而鲍林不是。但这个问题通过一点简单的技术处理就解决了。牛津大学很快授予鲍林荣誉硕士学位，这是鲍林一生中得到的唯一一个硕士学位。
更多的荣誉接踵而来。1947年4月，他被提名为美国科学院院长，这是鲍林很希望得到的一个职位。然而由于他即将赴英国讲学，他只得从候选人名单中将自己的名字撤出。没过多久，美国化学学会会员又提名鲍林为该学会主席。这次鲍林听其自然，因为他想自己即使当选，在第一年内也并不实际上任，没有多少事情要做。正式任期要从1949年开始，那时他早已从英国归来了。
尽管鲍林自己并不在乎美国化学学会主席的职务，但获得提名这件事却再一次证实了他在化学界的崇高地位。在长达20年的时间里，他所从事的化学研究终于从边缘旁支发展成学科主流，而这一结果主要是由于他作为理论家、著作家和演说家的杰出才干促成的。现在他已变成全美以至全世界最出名和最受人尊敬的化学家之一。1947年12月底，选举结果揭晓，他以较大的优势当选为美国化学学会的主席。
对鲍林当选表示不满的只有一小批反对鲍林的化学学会会员。对于一个纯学术组织来说，他们反对的