Molecular Architecture and Biological Reactions

THERE are two subjects that I am deeply interested in—structure, the detailed nature of molecules, crystals, and cells, described in terms of their constituent atoms, with interatomic distances determined to within O.Ol A., an interest that began in my youth and has received most of my attention until recent years; and the basis of the physiological activity of substances, an interest that is more recent but just as keen. It is with a deep feeling of satisfaction that I have reached the firm conclusion in recent years that these two fields are most intimately related. Why have we still so little understanding of the structural basis of the physiological activity of chemical substances, despite the interest and effort of many able physiologists and chemists during recent decades? I believe that it is because the problem has been examined, in the main, from one point of view only—not the wrong point of view, but ...