TEL. FJ 9177

THE WALTER AND ELIZA HALL INSTITUTE

OF
MEDICAL RESEARCH
SiR MACFARLANE BURNET F.R.S. c/s HOSPITAL Posy CENCE
MELBOURNE,

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

26th February, 1958.

Professor Joshua Lederberg,
Genetics Building

Department of Medical Genetics,
School of Medicine,

University of Wisconsin,
MADISON 6.

Dear Joshua,

Your letter of February 18 arrived this morning and
both Gordon and I think it extremely kind of you to remember our needs
and problems. We are trying out Feldman's medium right away although
I have tried previously a very similar formla without result. We are
still considerably hampered by the high base level in the medium we
have been using so if we can make this work it will help us a lot.

I am enclosing a reprint of our note published last June. We have
your suggestion for chemically defined inducers very much in mind and
Dr. Gottschalk is preparing for his own work some synthetic neuraminic
acid derivatives and has kindly offered to make small quantities of
these available to us. Also we are pushing on with the identification
of the active factor in bovine colostrun.

From a large batch of crude RDE Gordon Ada has succeeded
in obtaining a preparation which has two components, the greater.of which
is inactive. He is hoping to get rid of this fraction and then perhaps
he will be able to crystallize the enzyme.

I am most upset that you have not apparently received
the ampoules of RDE which I despatched to you last December. There is
a likelihood the parcel was sent surface mail and it may yet turn up.
In any case I am sending you forthwith by registered air mail two more
ampoules each containing 100,000 units of RDE. I hope these arrive and
the enzyme is of use to you.e Please let me know if you require any more.

With kindest regards and best wishes to you and again
many thanks for your interest in our problem.

Sincerely yours,

‘CC

Enc. ERIC Lie FRENCH.