October 26, 1960 Dr. George Klein Institute for Cell Research Karolinska Institutet Department of Tumor Biology Stockholm 60, Sweden Dear George: To your of the 2Ist and before. We are all glad to hear that your plans are starting to work out so well. We should be starting to process the necessary visas as the situation is a little blt more complicated than usual. We definitely should go ahead with the application for the H-1 (Tamporary Employment). However, are you clear whether there should be a separate application for you and Eva If you are both to work? Or will a single family visa make this possible just as well? The further information that we may need for making the epplications, both for Eva and yourself, would be your exact dates of birth and the names of your parents as they appear In your passports. Also, if you could apare two more copies each of your bibliographies, | think these might be useful. You do not have to rush these. The other documents seem to be in good order. | have had your letter of September 26th on my desk and wondered just what further reply | should make about terminology. | think | nave already expressed my own convictions and | think the one way to inculcate correct usage is to do correct usage. In fact, you might even be able to take tie opportunity of correcting Rous's error by a footnete that epinucleic refers to nucleic acids. Even given this misunderstanding, | feel that epigenetic represents a much more serious distortion and | would still recommend against continuing to use it In the peculiar sense that Nanney has suggested. | agree with your postscript that it is not too difficult to get away from “nucleic Information’ but | have not, myself, been able to find a quite satisfactory term for the contrary class, namely, the processes which modulate the expression of sequence-coded Information without involving a change in the sequence Itself. Perhaps we should discuss this problem with our colleagues in Communications or Electrical Engineering. Meanwhile, |, myself, would still continue to adhere to the expression of ‘nucleic’ and ‘non-'' or “epl-nucleic' Information since this at least does represent a quite concrete chemical concept which Is not so true for the other formu- lations. The distinctions awarded from Stockholm this year were indeed gratifying, notwithstanding the specific reservations that | had In my nominations of the pristagar. Perhaps It Is a pity that the specific Dr. Klein , cont. 2 October 26, 1960 regulations oblige you to name one specific contribution In the case of Burnet when his contributions have been amplified so much more by his general Impact on the blology of viruses and cells. This concelvably might lead to some grievances but | belleve that the Committee has acted Justly and well and that you are to be congratulated for your decisions. As usual, the newspapers over here, the day before the official announcement, were full of rumors that Salk and SabIn were high on the list! Yours as ever, P.S. 1 have a note here to make some Inquiry for my own information and to transmit to you about some recommendations for sterolds that might be useful reagents for your work on the methy! cholanthrene=Induced tumors. There Is an excellent review on synthetic analogs In Fried, J. and Borman, A., 1958 Synthetic derivatives of cortical hormones. Vitamins and Hormones 16: 304~ 374. One Important point Is that the Ileketo derivatives, such as cortisone and prednisone, are probably not active as such but require reduction to the ll-B-hydroxy forms before they are active. Consequently, the keto compounds are often used where systemic effect Is to be emphasized, whereas the 1|]-hydroxy compounds are the ones that have the most topical effect. | think that these agents may be very useful experimental tools as the next step if it can be substantlated that Inhibition of host immunity does play an important role in the Initiation of your tumors. However, | believe that the experiments we discussed at Bar Harbor are more likely to be fruitful at this stage. | am sure that the Syntex Laboratories will be happy to furnish any material they have at their disposal for your experiments and please let me know If 1 can help to arrange getting them for you. if | have any more thoughts about this 1 will also pass them on to you. Separate cover: Syntex Information brochure.