Robert Brainard Corey (August 19, 1897 – April 23, 1971) was an American biochemist, mostly known for his role in discovery of the α-helix and the β-sheet with Linus Pauling. Also working with Pauling was Herman Branson. Their discoveries were remarkably correct, with even the bond lengths being accurate until about 40 years later. The α-helix and β-sheet are two structures that are now known to form the backbones of many proteins.

Robert Brainard Corey
Born(1897-08-19)August 19, 1897
DiedApril 23, 1971(1971-04-23) (aged 73)
EducationUniversity of Pittsburgh, Cornell University (Ph.D.)
Known forFirst description of the α-helix and β-sheet
Scientific career
InstitutionsCaltech

Academic training

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A childhood polio survivor, Corey received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell University (Marsh, p. 52-53).

The findings of α-helix and β-sheet

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At Caltech, the trio (Pauling, Corey and Branson) published a series of articles in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

The most revolutionary of the articles in PNAS is the one written on February 28, 1951.[5] That date was also Pauling's 50th birthday. It was called "The Structure of Proteins: Two Hydrogen-Bonded Helical Configurations of the Polypeptide Chain". In the paper, one odd thing is that the trio diagrammed the α-helix as a left-handed helix, although it is really a right-handed one. Another odd thing in the paper is that the 3(10) helix is almost never mentioned, although it is very common, while the γ-helix, which was another focus of the paper, is almost never found in nature.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Pauling, L., and R. B. Corey. 1950. Two hydrogen-bonded spiral configurations of the polypeptide chain. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 72:5349.
  2. ^ Pauling, L., and R. B. Corey. 1951. The structure of synthetic polypeptides. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 37:241-50.
  3. ^ Pauling, L., and R. B. Corey. 1951. The pleated sheet, a new layer configuration of polypeptide chains. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 37:2451-56.
  4. ^ Pauling, L., and R. B. Corey. 1953. A proposed structure for the nucleic acids. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 39:84-97.
  5. ^ a b Pauling, L., R. B. Corey, and H. R. Branson. 1951. The structure of proteins: Two hydrogen-bonded helical configurations of the polypeptide chains. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 37:205-10.
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