December 9, 195%

AIR MAIL

Professor Victor C. Twitty
Department of Biological Sciences
’ Stanford University

California

Dear Dr. Twitty:

I was delighted to receive your invitation of December 6 to particle
pate in the next growth symposium at Amherst. However, there is some .
possibility of a conflict, especially for the required manuscript, as I
am scheduled to complete a rather extensive review for Bacteriological
Reviews at just the same time. May I reserve decision for a few days?

Meanwhile, it would be very helpful if you could let me know more |
of the general character of the program. I realize you may not yet have
gotten answers, or only equivocal answers like this, from your other
respondents, but I would like to know whether you are contemplating a
program primarily devoted to bacterial senetics, or whether this will
be one facet of a broader theme.

Tentatively, if we can accept, we would like to propose for our part
a discussion of Infection and Heredity, unless your program is too special«
izede This would focus on the work on which my wife, Esther, and I have
collaborated, together with others; infection refers here to lysogenic
virus, and heredity to that of E. coli. In view of our close collaboration,
may I propose that we be formally listed as joint authors? Esther will
doubtless join me on the trip. I realize that the financial burden may
be too mich to ask of the society and if necessary, we can surely find
other means of financing the additional cost. But it goes without saying
we would be pleased to manage it directly. In view of Family Plans for
travel, the cost will be somewhat ameliorated in any case.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Lederberg :
Professor of Genetics

/3w