HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02115

November 12, 1969

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics
Stanford Medical School
Stanford, California 94305

Dear Josh,

Here is the second fellowship reference report I mentioned;
this one is due before December 15.

You won't be surprised to learn that I was particularly
impressed by the column called "Agony of the Scientists" (#169).
Have you had any interesting response to it?

It occurred to me while I was thinking about that column that
"Science and Man" as an ongoing project must itself sometimes em-
body for you the frustrations of the times. Week after week you
point out more or less unattended areas in which research would
have an almost immediate impact on human welfare, you argue the
need for research in what must be one of the most politically prom-
jnent places available, and Congress responds with budget cuts,
dissolution of science advisory subcommittees, and tike gestures.
You may have to take to the streets yet!

I hope it was clear that in my last letter I was getting at
something different from the conscious “moral crisis" we evidently
largely share, specifically at an elusive, emotional dissatisfaction
that can remain even if the rational aspects of the crisis can be
dealt with, and that must be sensitive in not very mysterious ways
to the social and political ambience - so that a scientist, or any-
one else, may find himself well in the head but still a little sick
at heart. It's my feeling that this emotional component of self
assessment and commitment is especially important to undergraduates
and may serve as the primary force in their decisions at critical
branch points. The tone of articles like Bryce Nelson's (Science
166:582)., let alone the facts they report, doesn't help in this
sense. I'd be interested to know what the behavioral scientists
have to say about the topic and about the larger issue of how pub-
lic appreciation for personal effort can be communicated in a complex
society.

My own mood these days is still one of confusion, doubt, and,
more often than not,depression. The political atmosphere seems to
be closing in and thickening inexorably. I can't believe that Nixon
and all his advisors are oblivious to the dangers of scapegoating
and demagoguery at a time near the unsatisfactory end of an unpop-
ular war, but those appear nonetheless to be their conscious choices
of political tactics for the present. "Difficult times," says Ful-
bright.

vi Lf 17%0

Vana °7
Dr. Joshua Lederberg November 12, 1969
Page 2

I've decided to go to Washington this weekend. You may not
agree, but I think Nixon has essentially "called a hand," and that
large numbers will have to show up now just to keep him from declaring
dissent to have evaporated. The lesson Alice learned from the queen
seems distressingly applicable - it takes all the dissenting one can
do these days just to stay in the same place.

Thoughts about my own future haven't moved forward much. I
have become more convinced that cell culture in vitro will prove
to be a profitable, probably indispensable approach to neurobiology,
especially if, as I think you once suggested, the choice of cell
source is an organism offering some degree of genetic definition and
flexibility. The mouse seems the best choice to me now, though I
predict that the electrophysiology of interesting nematode mutants
will also be performed in vitro. One long range possiblity I've
been considering is the use of allotypic surface antigens as cell-
type markers in a study of synaptic specificity in vitro - a sort
of Herzenberg system for neurobiology. I'm also very impressed
with Richard Sidman's constellation of mouse cerebellar mutants
(I hope Luca Cavalli is aware of them.).

In short, when I ignore some ‘broader personal questions and
focus on what kind of science I might want to do, it seems likely
that cultured neurons will remain the subject of my immediate inter-
ests for awhile. If I can get the electrode array into a working
system and take the technology with me, it should provide a good
start (although I still feel self-conscious about representing my-
self as a neurobiologist). I haven't made any effort on my own yet
to see what kinds of. positions might be available, but some sugges-
tions have been offered and I intend to write to Don Kennedy for
some more.

I hope things are going well at Stanford. Have you succeeded
in obtaining funds for the metatechnology study? ‘

Sincerely yours,

oy

Lawrence Okun