Dr Warren Weaver,
Second Hill,
New Milford, Corm, 06776,.
U.S.A.

                  
Dear Warren,

   I waq very glad to get a letter from you and to learn that you
are writing a aoientifio autobiography.
to learn that you used the phrase      X was particularly interested
                    *molecular biology*" aa .,early as 1838.
I had no idea that if was around at that time,                

16th Hay 1967.

  I have a few small comments to make on t'he part that you'sent me.
On page 131 I think the referenoet near the top, to 1944 does not
refer to SchrBdinger% book but to the paper by Avery, I&&sod and &Warty
showing that transformsng factor was made of aNA.   This f s usually
taken.to be the beginning of that part of mohwxxlar biology whioh led
to the genetic aode.   I don3 think anything partiaular happen&I in
19504   Xt fs just that after the war things got off to rather '& slow
start.   I really don't think X aan go along wfth the. actual wording
that Bragg uses,l,, It is nonsense to say that the c&-helix. was the
first example of:;:+ correct determinatfon of atomic arrangement In
bioloaaal substances,   One would surely include oholeotsrol as a
biological subs tame,  and there must have been lots of earleer
examples.  ' What S: think Bragg meant to say was a biolo&cal polymer.
In point of fact the crucial experfmental evidence did not come from
a netural material but from some polymers ma4e synthetically.

   I have no objectfons to the things you have quoted Prom me.   J
think it is perfectly clear that the term 'molecular biology* can be
used efther in the very broadest sense, orb alternatively, in the
more narruw sense employed in the last few years.   Thfa narrow sense
applies to two main fields8  that of moleoular genetics (and the
biochemistry assooiated with it) and of molecular structure, especially
of maoromoleoulea.   The structure of Dl?A is unusual in that it can be
classified under both these headings.

   You may be amused to know that the original title of our unit
wae 'The 'Medical Research Council Unit for the Study of the'lolecular
Structure of B;PoZogbal Systems*.   Somewhere about 1958 we realized
that Sydney Brenner was studying function fn addition to structure
and we changed the title to *The Medical Reeearch Council Unit for
Nolecular Biology*.   Sydney likes to think that this is what has
made the name popular, but T think what really brought the term into
such general use was the starting of the Journal of Xoleoular Biology,


Dr Warren Weaver,                           16th May 1967,

the firat number of which appeared in April 1959.   3i w0ula be
interested to know if there were any labs with moleoular biology in
their title before that date, though, a9 you make quits clear, Aatbury
had wanted to use it for his lab;

  P was very interested to Bee the wonderful recrord of the Rockefeller
Foundation in supporting molecular biology.   1 know Max Perutz wa8
alwaysvery grateful for the money that he got.   On a minor point, 1
think if you are going to mention Cambridge University (page 136) you
should slip in'a reference to the Medical Research Council., who deserve
the major credit for supporting ue in the years when we were quite
unknown, and who also supported Wilkins.
  Max DelbrUckQ role is really a moat interesting one,   There is
really no doubt that he was the most important influenoe in the phage
group. What is 80 odd is that one of! his major motivations, unlike
          was to Bhow that there were things in biology which
the rest of ua,
could not be explained by 'physics.   In addition, he was hostile to
biocheztry, and also to molemlar structure, although he wa8 one of
the first people to realize the importance of the DNA structure,   One
of the other ourfous things about him has been hia very poor judgement.
He has guessed wrong on far too many aooaefons aa you will notice from
the festschrift,
and he also aet the And yet, in spite of all t+ts, he was the pioneer,
          tone (Don't quote this!).

   A&bury is equally curiouxs.   He waa a pioneer, but he never
90ma a single structure, and never founded a school.   His oontribution
wag to provide enthusiasm,  Paolecular biology would be radioally
different rlf Delbrtlck had never lived,   1 rather doubt if it could
have mattered if Aetbury'had died early*

  Two tiny pointa of detaiL  On page 128, line 10, RNA ehould be
DMA.  On page 131, Sir W.L. Bragg is not the EngUeh usage, The
correot usage is Sir Lawrmoe Bragg, aa on page 132.

  We missed you very much at the meeting last February.   Do you
think you will. be able to get to California next year?   It would be
90 nice if you could.

With all good wfshes,

F.H.C. Crickc