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August 16, 1962

Or. El! Sercarz

Department of Blology 16-417
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge 39, Massachusetts

Dear Dr. Sercarz:
Your letter of August | Is much appreciated.

You ralse a number of weighty Issues, both “administrative'and ‘scientific’,
to which | am not prepared to react briefly. { hope we may have some
opportunity to meet during the next year, which may help In going over
these problems. { had not urgently contemplated a specific successor for
Dr. Nossal In Immunology, but this may be a more realistic possibility for
1964, when we anticipate the completion of some new facilities. But !

do feel we can get much farther along with some personal conversation,

and hope an opportunity may come up In good time.

To answer one point In Immunological theory, the difference between
mature and immature cells is not so sharp; since adults can be paralyzed,
mature cells are elso repressible, but not so easily as immature ones--
even perhaps only because they have accumulated more antibody. The only rm,
point | am Inclined to be dogmatic about Is AS and Its corollaries, that

antibody speclIficity depends on a polypeptide sequence and that this Is

coded In a polynucleotide (DNA until proven otherwise). The other detalls

are strung together to display a coherent theory.

ZAP ADG

Sincerely yours,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics

JL: adf