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Linus Pauling…the man

June 23, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

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Linus Pauling was a chemist, of Bio-chemistry and quantum chemistry, he wasn’t as famous as Albert Einstein but in the science world he was famous. Dr. Pauling had many achievements in life, he won 2 Nobel prizes, one for Chemistry and 1 for Peace. He was also into the effectiveness of Vitamin C, that is was the cure for a lot of known diseases, such as the common cold and cancer.

Dr. Pauling also founded the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and medicine in 1973, and Invented the Pauling Heart therapy, which was a method of helping your heart without the use of drugs. He was also one of the first American chemist to master the x-ray diffraction. He is also in the California hall of fame, where he was inducted in 2008. Not only was he a chemist he was an educator at various colleges, Author and Peace activist. Science was his life and wanted to make things in the science world a better place.

Not only was dr. Pauling a chemist but he was also an Author and peace activist. He also that that the world would be a better place if there was no war involved. He influences a lot of people in the science field, with his hard work and dedication to it, he set out to research, that vitamin c was the cure for anything that was ailing you. He also set an example to anyone one that if you workhad and have dedication that you can do anything you set out to do. He lived to be 93 yearsold, that has to say something about his life.

Filed Under: Linus Pauling Tagged With: Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, Vitamin C

Celebrities With Sickle Cell Anemia

May 2, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

One of the great contributors to chemistry and associated research is undoubtedly Linus Pauling. He had a great interest throughout his career in various chemicals and their relation to structure. He also was heavily involved in bilogical chemicals around the mid-1930′s and did much of the research associated with discovering sickle cell anemia. Today, the blood disease is still around and incurable. Like many blood diseases, there are treatments available for sickle cell. Sickle cell is most predominant among African Americans going by percentage of population affected. You may even recognize some of these celebrities who have publicly discussed having sickle cell anemia.

1.) Larenz Tate- Mr. Tate is a hollywood actor who has appeared in such films as Dead Presidents and Menace II Society. In 2007, Mr. Tate released videos associating Black History Month with sickle cell anemia in order to provide awareness to the black community. He continues to act in hollywood, most recently on the televisions series Justified and Rescue Me.

2.) Miles Davis- Mr. Davis is perhaps the greatest jazz musician who has ever lived. The amazing trumpet player learned of his affliction with sickle cell in 1961. Despite the nature of the disease to make the afflicted feel ill, he was able to record music until about the mid-1970′s as well as conduct various tours in support of albums,

3.) Prodigy- A rapper for the group Mobb Deep, Prodigy has openly rapped about the disease since the earliest Mobb Deep records. He provides awareness of sickle cell not only in his records, but also by going into the community and raising awareness of the disease.

Filed Under: Health, Linus Pauling Tagged With: Linus Pauling, Miles Davis, Sickle-cell disease

The Legacy of Linus Pauling

December 30, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Linus Pauling is best known for his scientific discoveries and twice winning the Nobel Peace prize, but what about all the ways society has chosen to memorialize him after his death? As usual with a departed public figure, there are streets and buildings named after Pauling. But Pauling has some quirky legacies as well, including a psychedelic rock band called The Linus Pauling Quartet. Below are some of the many ways America remembers Linus Pauling.

1. Recognition by the scientific community. The legacy Pauling himself would likely be most proud of is the inclusion on a list of the 20 greatest scientists, which the magazine New Scientist released. It’s interesting to note that the only other scientist from the 20th century was Albert Einstein. Also, renowned scientist Francis Crick in 1986 recognized Pauling as the “father of molecular biology.”

2. Education. When school children learn about chemistry, they don’t just learn about the periodic table of elements. They learn about the history of science. Naturally, Pauling’s work on chemical bonding, the alpha helix, and electronegativity would be included in their chemistry textbooks.

3. An Institute named after him. The Linus Pauling Institute researches disease and its molecular basis, examining the role of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

4. Geographical references. There is a Pauling Street in Foothill Ranch, California; a Linus Pauling Lecture Hall at Caltech University; a Linus Pauling Middle School in Corvallis, Oregon; and an airport called Pauling Field in Condon, Oregon (where Pauling spent his childhood years).

5. Postage. The United States Postal Service released stamps in 2008 commemorating Pauling, along with several other influential scientists.

6. Fame. Pauling was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2008.

7. Works of fiction. Pauling even appears in a novel called Visibility by Boris Starling.

While Pauling is remembered in these ways and more, his true legacy is science itself, which would not be the same without his work.

Filed Under: Linus Pauling Tagged With: California Hall of Fame, Francis Crick, Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling’s Five Rules

December 27, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Crystals are amazing. They seem to magically grow, creating beautiful shapes and colors. Societies have been fascinated with crystals for centuries; this is why there are so many child’s “Grow Your Own Crystal!” sets on the market. Linus Pauling shared that same fascination, so much that he dedicated years of his life to studying and teaching about crystal formation.

As a chemistry professor at Caltech University, Pauling spent much of his time doing research on crystals. He authored over 50 research papers during that time, the basis of which later morphed into five key rules regarding crystal formation. While crystal formation may seem unimportant in the scheme of science, Pauling’s Five Rules are important in the field because they laid a foundation for future scientists.

Here are Pauling’s Five Rules, in almost layman’s terms:

1. Using a mathematical formula outlined by Pauling, it is possible to determine the distance between the positively charged ion (cation) and the negatively charged ion (anion) in crystals.

2. As long as the electrostatic bonds of a ionic chemical bond (when all added together) equal the charge of that anion, then it will be a stable chemical structure.

3. In crystals, when two polyhedra share edges or faces (but interestingly, not corners), the stability of the crystal goes down.

4. When crystals have a number of different positively charged ions, then the ones with lots of chemical bonds and few neighbors will often appear as different polyhedron types (octahedron or tetrahedron, for example).

5. A crystal has only a handful of different elements; thus, repetition is common, which is why crystals look the way they do.

While scientists today have suggested updates or revisions to the Five Rules, they largely remain proven and are accepted by the scientific community. Linus Pauling’s painstaking crystal research put him far ahead of his time.

Filed Under: Chemistry, Health, Linus Pauling Tagged With: California Institute of Technology, Crystal, Linus Pauling, Pauling's rules

Linus Pauling and Sickle Cell Anemia

December 23, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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In 1949, a research article was published in Science magazine. Dozens of papers are published every month, so the publication in itself is no big deal. What made this one paper special was that it announced a groundbreaking discovery: Sickle Cell Anemia is caused by a genetic protein deficiency.

A group of four scientists contributed to the research that backed this paper; notably, the renowned chemist and peace activist Linus Pauling was one of these scientists. It’s no wonder he is the only person ever to have received a Nobel Peace Prize in two different fields. Pauling was all over the place!

First, a short primer on Sickle Cell Anemia: it’s a genetic type of anemia (iron deficiency) characterized by sickle-shaped red blood cells, hence the name “Sickle Cell” Anemia.

At the time of the discovery that Pauling and his colleagues made, this research was the first time anybody had proven that Sickle Cell Anemia could be caused by proteins with abnormalities.

The group made this discovery by examining the red blood cells of people with Sickle Cell Anemia, as well as people without the disease. They saw that those with the disease had both the normal form of hemoglobin and a strange form of hemoglobin.

Prior to this discovery, those in the medical field had identified Sickle Cell Anemia as a disease, but they had no solid explanation for what exactly caused the red blood cells to form in the characteristic crescent shape.

This discovery is not only significant in the study of Sickle Cell Anemia, but in the field of genetic disease. By isolating the protein that causes red blood cells to become sickle-shaped, Pauling and his colleagues set the stage for the future study of genetic and hereditary disease, which is a huge field of study in today’s scientific landscape.

Filed Under: Health, Linus Pauling Tagged With: Linus Pauling, Nobel Peace Prize, Sickle-cell disease

The Linus Pauling Institute

December 20, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Linus Pauling is well-known for his work with Vitamin C (and his recommendation to take high doses of this vitamin daily), but he voraciously studied all the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and phytochemicals he could get his hands on. He was so dedicated to this field, in fact, that he established the Linus Pauling Institute in 1973 to focus on the study of nutrition and its impact on both optimal health and disease.

This institute is still active today, and it has grown into a large research center that is well respected by the scientific community. Not only is it valuable to the field of science, but the general public also reaps the benefits of their research.

The Pauling Institute is now located on the campus of Oregon State University (where Pauling attended during his undergraduate education). Pauling Institute scientists and researchers conduct timely studies that aim to solve today’s medical problems, such as examining the role of tea in cancer prevention or the impact of environmental stress on Lou Gehrig’s disease. In a twice-annual newsletter, the Pauling Institute outlines its accomplishments and features interviews with lead researchers. They also host free annual lectures on topics of interest to the public.

The Pauling Institute also provides medical information to the general public, such as a recent press release announcing that burns reduce Vitamin E levels in the body drastically, based on a study they completed on children who had been burned. Also, their web site has a free comprehensive database of all the micronutrients that are known to exist in food products.

In addition to conducting research, the Institute also supports the scientific community by offering a prize every other year to scientists and doctors who exemplify Pauling’s aim, which was to further the understanding of the effect of nutrition on health. The Institute also offers graduate fellowships to worthy science students.

Filed Under: Linus Pauling, Research Tagged With: Linus Pauling Institute

Linus Pauling Biography

December 3, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Linus Pauling, born Linus Carl Pauling on February 28, 1901 in Portland, Oregon, is known to be one of the most famous chemists. He was even awarded several Nobel Prizes for his work in chemistry and is said to be the best chemist of the 20th century.

After moving several times when he was young, Pauling went to elementary and high school in Oregon and began attending the Oregon State College in 1917. There, he received his Bachelors of Science in chemical engineering in 1922. In 1925 he received his Ph.D. in chemistry with minors in mathematics and physics.

He spent his life studying atoms and molecules. He studied the works of several physicists and became interested in quantum mechanics. In 1926 he traveled to Europe in order to gain more knowledge of physics. There, he spent two years devoting his life to how quantum mechanics relates to atoms and molecules.

Pauling also had a hand in molecular medicine and medical research. In November of 1949 he, along with three others, published and article in the journal “Science”. This article gave proof of human diseases caused by an abnormal protein. Sickle cell anemia became the first disease to be recognized at the molecular level. He went on to publish more articles in the journal “Science”, and then began studying vitamin C. He experimented on himself by taking three grams of vitamin C per day, and was excited by his results.

It was in 1923 when he married Ava Helen Miller. Together they had four children, Linus Carl Jr., Peter Jeffress, Linda Helen, and Edward Crellin. They also had thirteen grandchildren.

Pauling died at the age of 93 on August 19, 1994. The cause of death was prostate cancer. A grave is marked for him in Oswego Pioneer Cemetery in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Filed Under: Linus Pauling Tagged With: Linus Pauling, Oregon, Oregon State University

Linus Pauling Career

December 1, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Linus Pauling lived from February 28, 1901 to August 19, 1994. He was an American chemist, author, and educator. He was known to be one of the most famous chemists, and one of the most important chemists of the 1900′s.

Pauling worked in the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology where he became one of the first chemists to study in those fields. He was also one of four people to win multiple Nobel Prizes, one of two people awarded two Nobel Prizes in separate fields, and the only person awarded two unshared prizes.

Pauling began studying quantum mechanics while attending Oregon Stat University. He later traveled to Europe to study under the German physicist, Arnold Sommerfeld, Australian physicist, Erwin Schrodinger, and Danish physicist, Niel Bohr. Pauling was interested in how quantum mechanics applied to electronic structure of atoms and molecules, which was his area of study. Pauling devoted his two year European trip to his work and made it the focus of his research.

Pauling took the position of an assistant professor at Caltech in theoretical chemistry in 1927. He spent his time there studying quantum mechanics and how that relates to atoms and molecules. He published close to 50 papers in the five years he spent there and created five rules, which we know as Pauling’s rules. By 1930 he became a professor.

Pauling spent a part of his life learning about medicine. He published several articles in the journal “Science”, which helped explain diseases caused by abnormal proteins. He also studied how vitamin C can prevent colds. In his study, he took three grams of vitamin C every day and the experiment produced positive results.

It is said that he is one of the greatest chemists the world has ever seen. His multiple awards and fame in chemistry prove that to be true.

Filed Under: Linus Pauling Tagged With: Linus Pauling, Niel Bohr, Nobel Prize

Linus Pauling’s Take on Vitamin C

November 17, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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Many people refer to Linus Pauling as the Father of Vitamin C, and you would be hard pressed to find a person who spent more time dedicating research to the vitamin than he did. But there are some who disagree with Pauling on the power of vitamin C.

Most recently, a study examined whether vitamin C had the power to stop the common cold. It concluded that the vitamin did little to alter the onset or the duration of the cold. However, critics quickly pointed out that the study did not use the dosage recommended by Pauling.

In fact, many people often fail to use the dosage because they believe it exceeds the amount of the vitamin that the body can absorb, which means it passes unused from the body. Pauling recommend taking up to 10 grams of vitamin C on a daily basis, depending on which condition you were trying to treat. He believed 10 grams was sufficient to act as an anti-cancer agent.

In comparison, the FDA recommends a daily dosage of just 60 mg, and other say the body’s maximum amount of absorption occurs at 100 mg a day. In response to questions on the larger dose he recommended, Pauling offered evidence he collected over the years. By testing his urine over a 24-hour period, the physicist was able to measure the amount of vitamin C passing through his system.

At the higher dose of 10 grams a day, only 15 percent passed through the body, showing a much higher absorption than others think is possible. That, of course, doesn’t mean that everyone needs the full 10 grams each day. Pauling recommended 2 grams a day for adults in order to experience the best results.

For more information on Pauling’s research into vitamin C, consider buying a copy of his book “How to Live Longer and Feel Better.”

Filed Under: Linus Pauling Tagged With: Body, Cancer, Health, Linus Pauling, Nutrient, Nutrition, Science, Vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamins

Quantum AetherDynamics Institute Releases Linus Pauling Periodic Table

November 15, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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In October 2010, the Quantum AetherDynamic Institute debuted two periodic tables based on research from David Thomson, a science author. The tables combine equations that quantify the nuclear and electron structures of atoms. You can find them under the names of the Pauling Spheron Periodic Table and the Vajra Periodic Table.

Thomson based his work on previous research, and he gives credit to Fernando Dufour for creating a 3D model of the electron periodic table. Thomson took this model and divided it into two structures to focus the table on an atom’s electron structure. When he did this, Thomson noticed the design was similar to the ancient Vajra symbol, which is part of the Buddhist tantra.

The Pauling Spheron Periodic Table credits Linus Pauling, who identified a spheron as early as 1970s. While people often mistake this term to mean spherical in shape, this is not how Pauling used it. Spheron refers to the idea that an atom’s nucleus may contain clusters. These clusters can occur when smaller elements nest inside larger ones. For example, uranium may have a cluster of helium inside its nucleus.

Clustering, or the spheron structure of an element, determines what a nucleus might release as it decays. In the case of uranium, the stable nucleus of the helium element would release as the outer shell of uranium decayed. The more closely certain elements bond, the more likely they are to cluster together. One can consider the bonding properties of oxygen and helium to understand this better.

Because Pauling’s idea varies radically from a traditional periodic table, Thomson created an updated model that takes into consideration the spheron of elements, which he calls spin geometry. The Pauling table also utilizes the “magic numbers” for each nucleus, as determined by Pauling.

The periodic tables are available in wall charts for teachers wanting to display them in classrooms.

Filed Under: General, Linus Pauling Tagged With: Atom, Chemistry, David Thomson, Elements, Helium, Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Periodic table