Dr. Bruce King
[stamped, JUN 23 1987]
Thank you for the patent on formate decomposition.
You may wonder how our paths cross again (It was DENDRAL in 1980).
Catalytic decomposition of formate was the probable explanation of the results of the LR experiment in the 1976 Viking Mars Lander -- as you may be well aware. We should have given more attention to that possibility before the fact. So you can see why the title in CHEM=LINK intrigued me.
Sincerely
Joshua Lederberg
p 243
NASA -- Viking