It is of interest to briefly recall the state of molecular biology during my graduate school years. The structure of DNA and its role in genetics was ensconced, but even in 1960s there were occasional publications questioning the validity of this dictum. At this time the genetic code was unbroken, messenger RNA was not a reality and the mechanism of protein synthesis was befuddled.

Before I received my Ph.D. a few years later in 1963 all these topics were understood in fundamental terms and many of the established scientists of the day were beginning to wonder if there was anything left to be discovered or understood by pursuing microbial genetics. The big move was toward the new chic field of eukaryotic genetics.

I guess some of the happiest times of my life were when I worked at the bench. It was not unusual to return to the lab after an evening on the town or get up in the middle of the night to start an experiment or take an observation. And my scientific passway began when I started working on a project which would become my dissertation thesis.

I was working on the arrangement of mutational sites and the role of mutations in the altered phenotype of bacteria which could utilize the sugar elaravenos. And I was working Ellis Ingleberg's laboratory along with his colleague Roger Weinberg and we were using transductional mediated recombination to carry out this project. This technique became limited and I began to use bacterial conjugation to overcome this limitation.

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