\ LASKER LUNCH REMARKS-NOV.21, 1968

THE FIELD OF MOLECULAR GENETICS HAS ADVANCED WITH
INCREDIBLE RAPIDITY DURING THE LAST 10 TO 15 YEARS. YOU
MAY WONDER WHETHER THE NEW KNOWLEDGE WILL HAVE ANY EFFECT
UPON THE ETERNAL QUESTIONS OF WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE
GOING.

I THINK IT WILL HAVE A MARKED EFFECT, BUT NOT AN
IMMEDIATE ONE, MUCH MORE BASIC INFORMATION MUST FIRST BE
OBTAINED.

THE INITIAL OBJECTIVE IS TO UNDERSTAND THE CHEMISTRY

OF A NORMAL CELL, THIS LEADS NATURALLY TO AN UNDER-
STANDING OF THE ABERRANT CELL, AND IS OBVIOUSLY OF GREAT

IMPORTANCE TO MEDICINE,

ONE CAN PREDICT THAT A NEW AREA OF RESEARCH WILL
EMERGE DURING THE NEXT 25 YEARS--THAT OF MOLECULAR
EVOLUTION IN WHICH THE EFFECTS OF SYNTHETIC GENES UPON
THE ECONOMY OF THE CELL WILL BE EXPLORED.

2
Qin KNOW THAT THE MACHINERY OF THE CELL WILL ACCEPT AND
FOLLOW ANY INSTRUCTIONS WRITTEN IN THE APPROPRIATE MOLEC-
ULAR LANGUAGE, THE LANGUAGE HAS BEEN DECIPHERED AND IT
SEEMS PROBABLE THAT MOST, IF NOT ALL, FORMS OF LIFE ON
THIS PLANET USE THE SAME LANGUAGE WITH MINOR VARIATION,

GENETIC SURGERY IS A REALITY, BOTH WITH MICROORGANISMS
AND WITH MAMMALIAN CELLS, DNA FROM ONE STRAIN OF CELLS CAN
BE USED TO PROGRAM A DIFFERENT CELL STRAIN, AND THE PROGRAM
IS INHERITED BY THE DESCENDANTS OF THE RECIPIENTS, SIMPLE
GENETIC MESSAGES CAN BE SYNTHESIZED CHEMICALLY LARGELY DUE
TO THE PIONEERING STUDIES OF DR, KHORANA,

THE MAJOR POINT IS THAT IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE IN THE
FUTURE TO SYNTHESIZE GENETIC MESSAGES AND USE THEM TO
PROGRAM CELLS,

IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT MAN EVENTUALLY WILL BE ABLE TO
INSTRUCT HIS OWN CELLS, AND ULTIMATELY, INFLUENCE HIS OWN
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION,