Title:

Letter from Joshua Lederberg to Michael Heidelberger

Creator:

Lederberg, Joshua

Recipient:

Heidelberger, Michael

Date:

30 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 polysaccharides. As a molecular geneticist, Lederberg was interested in the structure of pneumococcal polysaccharides because pneumococcus was the organism in which DNA-mediated transformation--the transfer of genetic information carried by DNA--was first observed by Oswald Avery and colleagues. Lederberg believed that detailed knowledge of the structure of pneumococcal polysaccharides would help in understanding the action of the genes that code for them.. NOTE: Dr. Heidelberger's response is written at the bottom of the letter.

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 Michael Heidelberger to Joshua Lederberg, 1956

Language:

English

Legacy ID:

DHBBMN

NLM ID:

101584940X194

Profiles Collection:

The Michael Heidelberger Papers

Shareable Link:

https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584940X194

Story Section:

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