Abstract
SOME two years ago it was shown in this laboratory that the quill of a feather gives rise to a complex but well-defined X-ray fibre photograph1 which is quite different from that of animal hairs.2 It was afterwards shown that a similar photograph is given also by tortoise shell, and the conclusion was formed that it is characteristic of the keratin of feathers and reptilian scales as opposed to that of mammalian hairs, nails, horns, spines, etc.3 In the light of knowledge gained from the X-ray analysis of other protein fibres, it is now possible to interpret the feather photograph and fit it into the general scheme which such investigations, with increasing clearness, are beginning to unfold.
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References
See, for example, W. T. Astbury, "The Structure of Fibres" Annual Reports of the Chemical Society for 1931.
W. T. Astbury and A. Street, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A, 230, 75; 1931.
T. C. Marwick, J. Text. Sci., 4, 31; 1931.
R. Brill, Annalen, 434, 204; 1923. K. H. Meyer and H. Mark, Ber., 61, 1932; 1928. O. Kratky, Z. physik. Chem., B, 5, 297; 1929: 11, 363; 1931.
W. T. Astbury and H. J. Woods, Nature, 126, 913; 1930. J. Text. Inst., 23 T17; 1932.
W. T. Astbury, Proc Roy. Soc., A, 112, 457; 1926. W. H. Bragg, NATURE, 121, 327; 1928. A. L. Patterson, Z. Krist., 76, 182; 1930.
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ASTBURY, W., MARWICK, T. X-Ray Interpretation of the Molecular Structure of Feather Keratin. Nature 130, 309–310 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130309b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130309b0
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