THE INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH
7701 Burtholme Avenue
Fox Chase
Philadelphia 11, Pa.

October 9, 1958

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Genetics Building
University of Wisconsin
Madison 6, Wisconsin

Dear Josh:

Thank you very much for sending me your postscript to Gatlinburg.
It came just as I was sending off to SCIENCE a revision of my own manuscript,
which I am enclosing.

In your note you have taken the randomization of coding as a consequence
of differentiation from the stem line in order to avoid what I had also noted,
as you will see in my paper, to be an awkwardness in Burnet's treatment. The
feeling I have about your suggestion is not unsympathetic, although I, myself,
would prefer to think of an orderly sequence in the change of information during
differentiation, particularly in view of the variegation data. Your suggestion
involves a mutation-like process, associated with cell division, and does differ
from that in my treatment to a certain extent. It resembles more, as you say,
my thinking about the role of heterochromatic regions; and that possibility had
indeed also occurred to me. At any rate, these things I do believe are subject
to experimental test.

Pc

I have the feeling that the revision of my paper makes better sense than
the earlier draft; I hope you think so too.

Stanford is to be congratulated on your move and Wisconsin has my condolences.
One possible suggestion for a program in the genetics of somatic cells might be
Dan Lindsley. We were interested in him here but I think he would be very dif-
ficult to move from Oak Ridge except to the West Coast - so you might have a chance.
At the moment I have no other suggestions to make but if they should occur, I
will surely write you.

With all best wishes,

Sincerely,

Yh on.
JS:me