Title:

Letter from Michael Heidelberger to Joshua Lederberg

Creator:

Heidelberger, Michael

Recipient:

Lederberg, Joshua

Date:

28 November 1956

Description:

In this exchange between Heidelberger and the molecular geneticist Joshua Lederberg, the two agree on the need to elucidate in detail the chemical composition and three-dimensional structure of pneumococcal and other antigenic polysaccharides, a need Heidelberger was addressing at the time through his examination of immunological cross-reactions. Such cross-reactions, in which antigens react with certain non-homologous antibodies (antibodies formed against another antigen with which the first antigen shares closely-related or identical antigenic determinants, a site on the surface of an antigen molecule to which a single antibody binds), told organic chemists like Heidelberger much about the arrangement of the sugars in the repeating chemical units of polysaccharides, which in turn determined their immunological properties.

Location:

Box: 4. Folder: 1

Rights:

Public Domain

Genre:

Letters (correspondence)

Subject:

Polysaccharides and Molecular Structure

Format:

Text

Extent:

1 pages

Relation:

Letter from Joshua Lederberg to Michael Heidelberger, 1956
Letter from Joshua Lederberg to Michael Heidelberger, 1956

Language:

English

Legacy ID:

DHBBMM

NLM ID:

101584940X193

Profiles Collection:

The Michael Heidelberger Papers

Shareable Link:

https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584940X193

Story Section:

"If I Have a Few More Years to Work, I'm Going Ahead": An Active Retirement, 1954-1991