9 February 1953

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin.

Dear Dr. Lederberg,

As a medical man am a biochemist who has found himself adrift in
unfamilair waters, I seek your advice in a matter.

As I statéd to you when I last sent you a copy of the manuscript on the
copper organism, I had already sent it into the Jour of General Physiology
at the suggestion of Dr. Smadel, In a sentence it was rejected in

a letter from Mirsky. He stated merely that it was premature. Dr. Warren,
the head of our department, then picked it up and sent it off to a

Dr. Porter at the Department of Bacteriology in Iowa = presumably to

the Journal of Bacteriologye The wisdom of this move is not to be
discussed here; the results of the move, however, are to be discussed
from what I might learns Enclosed is a copy of the manuscript and

the comments.

I bother you in this matter for several reasons. First I wanted you to
-realize that I did not thoughtlesaly ignore your criticisms - I had
unfortunately not gotten in touch with you before it was first sent off.
Second I would like to know how you would tackle this business of
ruling out or in selection. What do you think of this added variable of
the streptomycin resistan ce and what are the details of such a
reconstruction experiment. Thirdly, would you hold up all other

things before this point of selection was absolutely sure? You see,

as an outsider looking in I am impressed with the disagreement among

the experts as to what really proves the point.

Fourthly, in this matter of exact correaltion between direct and plate
counts , I found thru discussions with Monod and Woods that I am not

alone. I am the first to admit that you can get nice st curves with

plate counts, but the correlation with the direct is what 7 find difficult -

at least to a point of accuracy that would justify applying my nucleic
acid data to theme

Pifthly , though not elegant, do you agree that the ultra violet work
is inadequate? Sixth - do you feel the nucleic acid data is unconvincing =

Binally do you think reference to Eprussi should be left out? I do
not mention it repeatedly. Furthermore I have discussed this whole
thing with Eprussi in great detail and he has given nothing but
encouragement. JI certainly realize the differences.

 
Of course the comment about biased planning is rediculous. IJ read those
references and wrote that paragraph after the work was all donee Having
had most of my dealings with the JBC in the past this last comment struck
me as peculiarly unconstructive and not very objective. I rather agree
with the person, that there are good arguments for leaving such a
paragraph oute

In addition to these specific questions, the overall problem is thise

I am engaged in very time consuming research with virusese I have

the new nucleotide isolated in the diphosphate form and am doing enzyme
studies on ite Also Seymour and I are engage, in experiments involving
host transfer in the light of this new compounds. We grow the bugs

in Phila and I bring everything down here and work on ite The present
experiments involving differential labeling of the pyrimidines of the hosst
are most exciting but very time consuming from the chemistry point

of view. Also I have considerable teaching reposibilities in

math and medicine every day and my lab and technical help are limited,
These of course are not reasons for pushing unfinished work , but they
do present a dilemma. Do you think that a few definitive experiments
in thig’matter are feasible in my next five months here, or do you
think that the matter best be dropped completely. I feel rather badly
abut the fact that I may have conveyed to various members of your
specialty an attitude of irresponsibility and lack of understanding
for the difficulties involved. On the other hand I do not want to
ignore what might be a significant finding in your field, anymore than
I would think of ignoring a new pyrimidine.for examples

I am now measuring increasing 260 absorption during that Birst period
in the presence of copper = a period when cell counts fall (on plats)
and when visible density remains unchanged. Other than this I am not

working with the coli - and will not until I hear from youe It is bad
enought to spread yourself thin even when you think you know what you

are doing = to say nothing of the times when you do note

I am sorry I cannot take you up on an extended visit. I am leaving

the army in July to take a residency at Hopkinse My real aim is to
saneday bring basic science on to the wards with the medical students ani
internes )s0 the year away from research is necessarye

I sure would appreciate your opinions as to how to expand this (ntormation
or better what to do with it or where to dump it,

Looking forward to the day when the bridge,fonm the island of nucleic
acid chemistry into the gloriouszy field of genetics,will be a little
broader and a little more secures

Th nks ofr your reprints. I shall send you some the next time I visit
Penn abt replenish my supplye A toothbrush end a car to get home are
the main things I keep here with me in the army.

Sincerely,