STANFORD UNIVERSITY
MEDICAL CENTER
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS October 10, 1960 DAvenport 1-1200
School of Medicine Cables STANMED

Dr. Peter Sneath

National Institute for Medical Research
Mill Hill

London N.W. 7, England

Dear Peter:

After this unwarranted delay on my part, I am trying to finish up the
manuscript on periodate. The accompanying text embodies what we have talked
about and | will be quite agreeable to forwarding it in this form or
together with whatever final correations you would like to make,

| am still a little uneasy about the experiment in what is now
Table 11]. It certainly does indicate that the treatment of the male
cells with periodate prevents the effective formation of mating pairs
that would be revealed by plate recombinants. However, one essential
datum is really still missing, namely, that pairs once formed are no
longer influenced by periodate. This is mentioned without serious docu-
mentation at the beginning of the paragraph to which Table Ii refers. |
do not recall a really satisfactory experiment on this point and, while it
is not unimportant, if it is lacking | don't suppose there is much to do
about it. Until | read the experiment of Table {1 more closely, | thought
there had been a control - that pre-mixed parents could then be exposed to
periodate without severely impairing the yield of recombinants.

a

| will follow your lead on this point and send the manuscript in
without delay as soon as you have returned it with your approval and any
last minute corrections.

Yours sincerely,
Crhot ola. ! be
[Aw * Joshua Lederberg

Professor of Genetics

JL/jh
Enc. ms.