Linus Pauling and sickle cell disease Original Research Article

The 1949 paper by Linus Pauling et al. [Science 110 (1949) 543–548] describing the discovery of sickle cell anemia as the first molecular disease had a major impact on biology and medicine. Inspired by the scholarly works of John Edsall on the history of hemoglobin research, I present a brief retrospective analysis of Paulingʹs paper. This is followed by some personal recollections of Edsall and Pauling.