Linus Pauling and Vitamin C. Linus Pauling: biography, contributions to science

One of the most famous American chemists is Linus Pauling. His biography interests not only residents of the United States, but also people around the world. It is not surprising, because he researched vitamins - dietary supplements that are so popular today. And I must say, Linus Carl Pauling came to interesting results. It is about this scientist, who became a laureate of two Nobel Prizes, that we will talk today.

Origin and childhood of Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling, whose photo and biography are presented in the article, was born in Portland on February 28, 1901. The boy’s father was a pharmacist (pictured below), and his mother was a housewife. When Linus was 9 years old, his father died. Because of this, the family had a hard time financially.

Linus grew up as an introverted and thoughtful child. He could observe insects for a long time, but Pauling was especially attracted to minerals. He was fascinated and attracted by the world of colored stones. This passion for crystals sometimes manifested itself in adult life: the scientist studied several minerals based on the theory that he created.

At the age of 13, Pauling visited a chemical laboratory for the first time. What he saw there made a great impression on him. Linus decided to immediately start experimenting. He borrowed "chemical" utensils from his mother's kitchen, and his own room became a place for research.

College education

Pauling never graduated from high school, but that did not stop him from enrolling in Oregon Agricultural College, which later became the University of Oregon. During his studies, Linus became seriously interested in And in the evenings and nights he had to earn a living. Pauling worked in a restaurant as a dishwasher and also sorted paper in a printing house.

Linus was a brilliant student. The prodigy was noticed by teachers and in the penultimate year they offered him to become an assistant. So Pauling began working in the department of quantitative analysis. A year later he became an assistant in mechanics, chemistry and materials.

Defense of a doctoral dissertation, beginning of a career as a scientist

Linus Pauling received a Bachelor of Science (chemical engineering) in 1922. To work on his doctoral dissertation, he was invited to the California Institute of Technology, located in Pasadena. He brilliantly defended the work in 1925.

The young scientist began to make a career at the Institute of Technology. He became an assistant professor already in 1927, an associate professor in 1929. In 1931, Pauling was already a professor of chemistry.

Study of X-ray crystallography

During this time he acquired important skills in the field of X-ray crystallography. Linus read X-ray photographs with ease, as if he could observe the atomic structure of substances with his own eyes. This knowledge brought the scientist closer to the nature of the chemical bond - the main area of ​​​​research for the rest of his life. He went to Europe, where he visited famous scientists: in Munich - A. Sommerfeld, in Zurich - in Copenhagen - N. Bohr.

Theory of hybridization (resonance)

In 1928, Linus put forward his theory of hybridization (in other words, the theory of resonance). This was a real breakthrough in structural chemistry. At this time, the problem of reflecting the structure and properties of a compound in a chemical formula still remained unresolved. Despite the fact that scientists agreed to use a dash to indicate a valence bond, many ambiguities arose. The fact is that in reality everything turned out to be more complicated than the diagrams drawn on paper.

Soon additional designations were needed. In particular, if the bond was polar, this was indicated by an additional arrow; if it was ionic, minuses and pluses were additionally placed over the atoms. However, this didn’t help much either. It turned out that in order to adequately depict the properties and structure of many molecules, especially complex ones, it was necessary to resort to several structural formulas. In particular, for benzene, as many as five were needed. Since each was considered separately, none of them could accurately describe the properties and structure of this aromatic compound.

Pauling's idea was that a molecule is the result of resonance, that is, the superposition of several structures on top of each other. Moreover, each of these structures describes different features of the chemical properties and structure of the molecule.

In 1939, Linus's work "The Nature of the Chemical Bond" appeared. The scientist applied quantum theory to solve various problems facing science. This allowed him to explain many disparate facts from unified theoretical positions.

New discoveries

Linus Pauling in the second half of the 1930s studied the structure of molecules based on the theory of resonance. He was also interested in antibodies, in particular their ability to provide immunity. The scientist made a number of discoveries in the field of virology, immunology and biochemistry. For example, he studied the hemoglobin molecule. Linus Pauling published the first description of the three-dimensional molecular structure of proteins in 1951 (co-authored with R. Korn). It was obtained based on X-ray crystallography data.

Attitude to Pauling's theory in the USSR

Pauling's theory caused a real storm in the USSR. In our country, after the defeat of linguists, cyberneticists and geneticists, they took up quantum mechanics, and then chemistry became a target of the NKVD. Pauling's resonance theory, as well as K. Ingold's theory of mesomerism, which is related to it, were the main objects of attack. The Soviet Union declared that Pauling's idea of ​​a real molecule as a mean between two or more extreme abstract structures was idealistic and bourgeois. On June 11, 1951, an All-Union meeting was held, at which problems of chemical structure were considered. At this event, the resonance theory was destroyed.

Nobel Prizes and other achievements of Pauling

However, Linus's achievements were appreciated abroad. Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954 for his study of the nature of the chemical bond, as well as for its application to the study of the structure of compounds. And in 1962, the scientist received this prize for the second time - as a fighter for peace.

Pauling is the author of about 250 scientific publications and many books, including a textbook on modern chemistry that is unique in its depth and simplicity of presentation. In 1948, for his achievements in science, he became the head of the American Chemical Society, and was also elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and many other scientific societies in various countries.

Peace activities

Deeply aware of the threat that atomic weapons pose to humanity, Linus began to actively fight against the creation of new nuclear weapons. This scientist was among the initiators of the Pugwash movement. In 1957, Pauling delivered an appeal signed by 11,021 scientists representing 49 countries. In the 1958 book “There Will Be No War!” Linus Pauling expressed his pacifist views.

In June 1961, the scientist and his wife convened a conference in Norway (Oslo), the theme of which was countering the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Despite Linus' appeals to Nikita Khrushchev, the USSR resumed testing in September of that year. And in March of the following year, the United States did the same. Then the scientist began to carry out dosimetric monitoring of radioactivity. Pauling in October 1962 disseminated information that its level had doubled compared with the previous 16 years. In addition, Pauling drafted a treaty banning this kind of testing. In July 1963, the USSR, USA and Great Britain signed it.

The scientist stopped working at the California Institute of Technology in 1963 and began working at the Center for the Study of Public Institutions, located in Santa Barbara. Here he began to study problems of war and peace. Linus carried out a number of experiments on the threat of radioactive contamination. The scientist found that radioactive elements cause leukemia, bone cancer, thyroid cancer and some other diseases. Although Linus was equally vocal in condemning the Soviet and American governments for the arms race, some conservative politicians questioned his loyalty to the United States.

In 1969, the scientist stopped working where he carried out his research for two years. He did this as a sign of protest against the educational policy pursued by R. Reagan. Linus began working as a professor.

Pauling's personal life

In 1922, the scientist married a student at the Oregon Agricultural College, Ava Helen Miller (her photo is presented below). They had a daughter and three sons. Ava Helen died in 1981. After her death, Pauling lived in California, in Big Sur, where their country house was located.

Pauling's Orthomolecular Medicine

Pauling is a supporter and popularizer of the so-called orthomolecular medicine. Its essence lies in the fact that treatment is carried out using substances that are present in the human body. The scientist believed that to defeat a particular disease you just need to correctly change their concentration. Its Medical Scientific Institute was founded in 1973 to study how to treat and prevent disease by consuming adequate doses of beneficial minerals and vitamins. Pauling believed that it was especially important to consume plenty of vitamin C. In 1979, a book by this scientist entitled “Cancer and Vitamin C” appeared. It talked about how ascorbic acid helps cope with this dangerous disease. Linus Pauling created “Vitamin C and the Runny Nose” in the same year. Both of these books met with mixed reactions from doctors, but became very popular.

Ascorbic acid research

Dr. Linus Pauling became interested in vitamins already in old age. The scientist devoted the last 30 years of his life to the study of ascorbic acid and the possibilities of its clinical use and came to the conclusion that consuming it in large quantities has a positive effect on the human body.

It should be said right away that no vitamins will save you if you lead an unhealthy lifestyle. They can be compared to seat belts. When a person is wearing a seat belt, it simply protects them in the event of an accident, but does not guarantee a safe ride. Vitamins also only give us additional protection. Confirmation of their action is the active and long life of such a scientist as Linus Pauling. He took vitamin C in the amount of 18 g per day, and vitamin E (tocopherol) - 800 IU, starting in his seventh decade. Linus managed to live to the age of 93! Linus Pauling died in 1994. His brief biography indicates that he did not suffer from serious illnesses.

By the way, even the irreconcilable opponents of this scientist agree that ascorbic acid is good for health. Fierce debate has been going on for many years just about the amount that should be taken.

What do the statistics say?

The US Academy of Sciences recommends that an adult male take 60 mg of vitamin C daily. Russian standards vary depending on the person's age, gender and profession. For men it is 60-110 mg, for women - 55-80. With these and larger quantities, there is no hypovitaminosis (bleeding gums, fatigue) or scurvy. People who consume more than 50 mg of ascorbic acid per day, according to statistics, show signs of old age 10 years later than others.

1954
Nobel Peace Prize, 1962

American chemist Linus Carl Pauling was born in Portland (Oregon), the son of Lucy Isabel (Darling) Pauling and Herman Henry William Pauling, a pharmacist. Pauling Sr. died when his son was 9 years old. Pauling was interested in science since childhood. At first he collected insects and minerals. At the age of 13, one of Pauling’s friends introduced him to chemistry, and the future scientist began conducting experiments. He did this at home, and took the dishes for experiments from his mother in the kitchen. Pauling attended Washington High School in Portland but did not receive a high school diploma. However, he enrolled at the Oregon State Agricultural College (later to become Oregon State University) in Corvallis, where he studied primarily chemical engineering, chemistry, and physics. To support himself and his mother financially, he worked part-time washing dishes and sorting paper. When Pauling was in his penultimate year, he, as an extremely gifted student, was hired as an assistant in the department of quantitative analysis. In his final year he became a teaching assistant in chemistry, mechanics and materials. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1922, Pauling began work on his doctorate in chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Pauling was the first at the California Institute of Technology who, upon graduating from this higher educational institution, immediately began working as an assistant and then as a teacher in the chemistry department. In 1925 he was awarded a doctorate in chemistry summa cum laude(with the highest praise - lat.). Over the next two years, he worked as a researcher and was a member of the National Research Council at the California Institute of Technology. In 1927, Pauling received the title of assistant professor, in 1929 - associate professor, and in 1931 - professor of chemistry.

Working all these years as a researcher, Pauling became an expert in X-ray crystallography - the passage of X-rays through a crystal to form a characteristic pattern from which one can judge the atomic structure of a given substance. Using this method, Pauling studied the nature of the chemical bonds in benzene and other aromatic compounds (compounds that typically contain one or more benzene rings and are aromatic). A Guggenheim Fellowship allowed him to spend the academic year 1926/27 studying quantum mechanics with Arnold Sommerfeld in Munich, Erwin Schrödinger in Zurich, and Niels Bohr in Copenhagen. Schrödinger's 1926 quantum mechanics, called wave mechanics, and Wolfgang Pauli's 1925 exclusion principle were to have a profound impact on the study of chemical bonds.

In 1928, Pauling put forward his theory of resonance, or hybridization, of chemical bonds in aromatic compounds, which was based on the concept of electron orbitals, derived from quantum mechanics. In the older model of benzene, which was still used from time to time for convenience, three of the six chemical bonds (linking electron pairs) between adjacent carbon atoms were single bonds, and the remaining three were double bonds. Single and double bonds alternated in the benzene ring. Thus, benzene could have two possible structures depending on which bonds were single and which were double. It was known, however, that double bonds were shorter than single bonds, and X-ray diffraction showed that all bonds in a carbon molecule were of equal length. Resonance theory stated that all bonds between carbon atoms in the benzene ring were intermediate in character between single and double bonds. According to Pauling's model, benzene rings can be considered as hybrids of their possible structures. This concept has proven extremely useful for predicting the properties of aromatic compounds. Over the next few years, Pauling continued to study the physicochemical properties of molecules, especially those related to resonance. In 1934, he turned his attention to biochemistry, in particular the biochemistry of proteins. Together with A. E. Mirsky, he formulated the theory of the structure and function of protein, and together with C. D. Corwell, he studied the effect of oxygenation (oxygen saturation) on the magnetic properties of hemoglobin, an oxygen-containing protein in red blood cells.

When Arthu Noyes died in 1936, Pauling was appointed dean of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and director of the Gates and Crellin Chemical Laboratories at Caltech. While in these administrative positions, he initiated the study of the atomic and molecular structure of proteins and amino acids (the monomers that make up proteins) using x-ray crystallography, and in the academic years 1937–1938. was a lecturer in chemistry at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

In 1942, Pauling and his colleagues, who produced the first artificial antibodies, succeeded in changing the chemical structure of some proteins found in the blood, known as globulins. Antibodies are globulin molecules produced by special cells in response to the invasion of the body by antigens (foreign substances) such as viruses, bacteria and toxins. The antibody is combined with a special type of antigen, which stimulates its formation. Pauling put forward the correct postulate that the three-dimensional structures of the antigen and its antibodies are complementary and, thus, are “responsible” for the formation of the antigen-antibody complex. In 1947, he and George W. Beadle received a grant to conduct five years of research into the mechanism by which the polio virus destroys nerve cells. Over the next year, Pauling served as a professor at Oxford University.

Pauling's work on sickle cell anemia began in 1949, when he learned that the red blood cells of patients with this hereditary disease become sickle-shaped only in venous blood, where oxygen levels are low. Based on his knowledge of the chemistry of hemoglobin, Pauling immediately hypothesized that sickle-shaped red cells were caused by a genetic defect deep within the cell's hemoglobin. (The hemoglobin molecule consists of an iron porphyrin, called heme, and the protein globin.) This assumption is clear evidence of the amazing scientific intuition that is so characteristic of Pauling. Three years later, the scientist was able to prove that normal hemoglobin and hemoglobin taken from patients with sickle cell disease could be distinguished using electrophoresis, a method of separating different proteins in a mixture. The discovery confirmed Pauling's belief that the cause of the anomaly lay in the protein part of the molecule.

In 1951, Pauling and R. B. Corey published the first complete description of the molecular structure of proteins. This was the result of research that lasted 14 long years. Using X-ray crystallography to analyze proteins in hair, wool, muscle, nails and other biological tissues, they discovered that the amino acid chains in the protein are twisted around each other in such a way that they form a helix. This description of the three-dimensional structure of proteins marked a major advance in biochemistry.

But not all of Pauling's scientific endeavors were successful. In the early 50s. he focused on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a biological molecule that contains the genetic code. In 1953, when scientists around the world were trying to establish the structure of DNA, Pauling published a paper in which he described the structure as a triple helix, which is not true. A few months later, Francis Crick and James D. Watson published their now famous paper, which described the DNA molecule as a double helix.

In 1954, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his investigation of the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the determination of the structure of compounds.” In his Nobel lecture, Pauling predicted that future chemists would “rely on new structural chemistry, including precisely defined geometric relationships between atoms in molecules and the rigorous application of new structural principles, and that thanks to this technology, significant progress will be made in solving problems of biology and medicine using chemical methods."

Although Pauling was a pacifist in his early years during World War I, during World War II the scientist served as an official member of the National Defense Research Commission and worked on the development of new rocket fuels and the search for new sources of oxygen for submarines. boats and planes. As a member of the Office of Research and Development, he made significant contributions to the development of plasma expanders for blood transfusion and military applications. However, soon after the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pauling began a campaign against the new type of weapon and in 1945–1946, as a member of the National Security Commission, he lectured on the dangers of nuclear war.

In 1946, Pauling became one of the founders of the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, established by Albert Einstein and 7 other renowned scientists to seek a ban on atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Four years later, the nuclear arms race had already picked up speed and Pauling opposed his government's decision to create the hydrogen bomb, calling for an end to all atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. In the early 1950s, as both the United States and the Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs and levels of radioactivity in the atmosphere rose, Pauling used his considerable talent as a public speaker to publicize the possible biological and genetic consequences of fallout. The scientist's concern about potential genetic dangers was partly explained by his research into the molecular basis of hereditary diseases. Pauling and 52 other Nobel laureates signed the Mainau Declaration in 1955, calling for an end to the arms race.

When Pauling drafted an appeal in 1957, which contained a demand to stop nuclear testing, it was signed by more than 11 thousand scientists from 49 countries, including over 2 thousand Americans. In January 1958, Pauling presented this document to Dag Hammarskjöld, who was then UN Secretary General. Pauling's efforts contributed to the establishment of the Pugwash Movement for Scientific Cooperation and International Security, whose first conference was held in 1957 in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, and which ultimately succeeded in facilitating the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Such serious public and personal concern about the danger of contamination of the atmosphere with radioactive substances led to the fact that in 1958, despite the absence of any treaty, the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain voluntarily stopped testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere.

However, Pauling's efforts to achieve a ban on atmospheric nuclear weapons testing met not only support, but also significant resistance. Prominent American scientists such as Edward Teller and Willard F. Libby, both members of the US Atomic Energy Commission, argued that Pauling exaggerated the biological effects of fallout. Pauling also encountered political obstacles due to his perceived pro-Soviet sympathies. In the early 50s. the scientist had difficulties obtaining a passport (for traveling abroad), and he received a passport without any restrictions only after he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Oddly enough, during the same period, Pauling was also attacked in the Soviet Union, since his resonance theory of the formation of chemical bonds was considered contrary to Marxist teaching (after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, this theory was recognized in Soviet science). Pauling was called twice (in 1955 and 1960) before the US Senate Subcommittee on Homeland Security, where he was asked questions regarding his political views and political activities. On both occasions he denied that he had ever been a communist or sympathized with Marxist views. In the second case (in 1960), at the risk of being accused of contempt for Congress, he refused to name those who helped him collect signatures for the 1957 appeal. In the end, the case was dropped.

In June 1961, Pauling and his wife convened a conference in Oslo, Norway, against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In September of the same year, despite Pauling's appeals to Nikita Khrushchev, the USSR resumed testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, and the following year, in March, the United States did so. Pauling began monitoring radioactivity levels and in October 1962 made public information that showed that, due to tests carried out the previous year, the level of radioactivity in the atmosphere had doubled compared to the previous 16 years. Pauling also drafted a proposed treaty to ban such testing. In July 1963, the USA, USSR and Great Britain signed a nuclear test ban treaty, which was based on Pauling's project.

In 1963, Pauling was awarded the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize. In his opening speech on behalf of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Gunnar Jahn stated that Pauling “waged an unceasing campaign not only against nuclear weapons testing, not only against the proliferation of these weapons, not only against their very use, but against any military action as a means of resolving international conflicts.” In his Nobel lecture entitled “Science and Peace,” Pauling expressed the hope that the nuclear test ban treaty would mark “the beginning of a series of treaties which will lead to the creation of a new world in which the possibility of war will be forever eliminated.”

The same year that Pauling received his second Nobel Prize, he retired from the California Institute of Technology and became a research professor at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara, California. Here he was able to devote more time to the problems of international disarmament. In 1967, Pauling also accepted a position as professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, hoping to spend more time researching molecular medicine. Two years later he left there and became a professor of chemistry at Stanford University in Palo Alto (California). By this time, Pauling had already retired from the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. At the end of the 60s. Pauling became interested in the biological effects of vitamin C. The scientist and his wife began to regularly take this vitamin themselves, and Pauling began to publicly advertise its use to prevent colds. In the monograph “Vitamin C and the Cold,” which was published in 1971, Pauling summarized the practical evidence and theoretical calculations published in the current press in support of the therapeutic properties of vitamin C. In the early 70s. Pauling also formulated the theory of orthomolecular medicine, which emphasized the importance of vitamins and amino acids in maintaining an optimal molecular environment for the brain. These theories, which were widely known at the time, were not confirmed by subsequent research and were largely rejected by medical and psychiatric experts. Pauling, however, takes the view that the basis of their counterarguments is far from flawless.

In 1973, Pauling founded the Linus Pauling Medical Institute in Palo Alto. He was its president for the first two years and then became a professor there. He and his colleagues at the institute continue to conduct research into the therapeutic properties of vitamins, in particular the possibility of using vitamin C to treat cancer. In 1979, Pauling published Cancer and Vitamin C, in which he argued that taking large doses of vitamin C helps prolong the life and improve the condition of patients with certain types of cancer. However, reputable cancer researchers do not find his arguments convincing.

In 1922, Pauling married Ava Helen Miller, one of his students at Oregon State Agricultural College. The couple have three sons and a daughter. After his wife's death in 1981, Pauling lived at their country home in Big Sur, California.

In addition to two Nobel Prizes, Pauling was awarded many awards. Among them: an award for achievements in the field of pure chemistry from the American Chemical Society (1931), the Davy Medal of the Royal Society of London (1947), the Soviet government award - the international Lenin Prize “For Strengthening Peace Between Nations” (1971), the national medal “For Scientific achievements" of the National Science Foundation (1975), the Lomonosov Gold Medal of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1978), the Chemistry Prize of the American National Academy of Sciences (1979) and the Priestley Medal of the American Chemical Society (1984). The scientist was awarded honorary degrees from Chicago, Princeton, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge universities. Pauling was a member of many professional organizations. These are the American National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as scientific societies or academies of Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, India, Norway, Portugal, France, Austria and the USSR. He was president of the American Chemical Society (1948) and the Pacific Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1942–1945), and vice president of the American Philosophical Society (1951–1954).

"Vitamin Revolution" by Linus Pauling

In December 1970, the famous American scientist Linus Pauling, then a professor of chemistry at Stanford University in California, published an article “The Evolution and Demand for Ascorbic Acid” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. In this article, he called all previous data on optimal doses of vitamin C and the role of ascorbic acid in the human body erroneous. Pauling came to this conclusion not through any experiments, but as a result of theoretical reasoning and a fairly selective use of certain literary sources. One of the key publications for Pauling was the publication of G. Bourne, who in 1949, when the British experiments in Sheffield were still classified, suggested that the optimal dose of vitamin C could be 4.5 grams per day, since approximately this amount of ascorbic acid enters the an organism of gorillas that feed exclusively on leaves of trees and shrubs. If a person, Pauling reasoned, like other primates, ate only plant foods, then his body would also receive at least 5 g of ascorbic acid daily. Getting the 2,500 kcal a person needs from cabbage would bring 5 g of ascorbic acid into the body, and in the case of the more nutritious broccoli - 8.8 g. Getting 2,500 kcal from sweet peppers raised the amount of ascorbic acid entering the body to 16. 5 g. Man, as a result of recent evolution, has switched to consuming more concentrated sources of calories - plant grains, meat, fish, fats, which contain very little vitamin C. This, according to Pauling, led to chronic vitamin deficiency, and its elimination with the help of synthetic vitamins drugs could have a huge impact on health, immunity and longevity. In fact, this was just an assumption, unsubstantiated. To form collagen fibers, that is, to perform the function of a coenzyme, 10 mg of ascorbic acid was sufficient. However, Pauling argued that ascorbic acid, as an antioxidant, can perform many other functions and provide protection to cells and tissues from damage by oxygen free radicals. The theory that aging is the result of the accumulation of damage to cellular structures by oxygen free radicals, put forward by Denman Harman back in 1956, remained the most popular at that time. According to Linus Pauling, daily doses of vitamin C should be increased by 100 to 200 times. Only in this case, ascorbic acid, saturating the tissues, will protect a person from infections, especially colds, stimulate the immune system, accelerate the detoxification of harmful substances, improve brain function and relieve stress. As an example, Pauling cited only his own experience, saying that he and his wife set their daily intake of vitamin C at 10 g, which improved their well-being.

If this article had been written by someone else, it would hardly have attracted attention. There were many factual errors in the author's reasoning. Immune cells, lymphocytes and macrophages are one of the main sources of free radicals, with the help of which they destroy bacteria that have penetrated into tissues, and oxygen free radicals are generated by mitochondria, to which ascorbic acid in food does not have access. But Linus Pauling was a famous scientist, winner of two Nobel Prizes (the first in chemistry, the second - the Peace Prize). Being a physical chemist by profession, he became famous for the discovery of abnormal hemoglobins in some hereditary tropical blood diseases. As a member of the American National Academy of Sciences, Pauling had the right, according to the academy's charter, to freely publish his articles in its Proceedings without review.

The appearance of Pauling's paper in December 1970 caused controversy and critical commentary in some medical and biochemical journals. By this time, it was established that the concentration of ascorbic acid in the blood should not exceed 1 mg per deciliter. Exceeding this level may alter the neutrality of the serum. Excess ascorbic acid is usually simply removed through the kidneys without entering the tissues. There was no reason to change the recommended doses of vitamins without a lot of additional research. It is quite possible that the controversy surrounding Pauling's article could die out in two or three years without much consequence. But this did not happen for a random and very unusual reason.

In 1972, a very rich and childless widow died in San Francisco. She bequeathed her fortune to the creation of an institute in California to develop methods of life extension. The deceased wanted to see Linus Pauling as the president of such an institute. Before 1973, I did not pay much attention to Pauling's theories. In the spring of 1974, for the first time in my life, I came on an extended visit to the United States, where I was to spend two weeks in San Francisco and Berkeley at the invitation of University of California professor Thomas N. Jukes, with whom I had been corresponding for a long time. Tom Jukes was a major expert in the biochemistry of vitamins. In particular, he was responsible for the discovery of a new B vitamin - folic acid. He was also a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and had just published an article in the same Academy Proceedings criticizing the theories and reasoning of Linus Pauling, explaining that at higher doses, all excess ascorbic acid would be eliminated in the urine. According to Jewkes, the new institute, initially called the Institute of Orthomolecular Medicine, but soon renamed the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, already has an endowment of $70 million and is being built to the design of some famous French architect in the picturesque city of Palo Alto on the bay. San Francisco. The Institute is registered as a private, not-for-profit company and vigorously solicits donations for its research program on life extension and cancer treatment.

This text is an introductory fragment.