236 MUTATIONS 



In the case of penetration to testes, the accurate measurements may 

 be due for correction, one way or the other. But this is not important. 

 The important thing is that caffeine actually reaches this tissue. 



Then he proposed to calculate just how much effect caffeine could 

 have, especially as compared with radiation, and he had to make 

 certain assumptions. These assumptions were subjected to the criticism 

 of many members of the audience until Dr. Lederberg and Dr. Neel 

 pointed out that unless we make some assumption, we cannot start a 

 discussion of the problem; it was felt that perhaps it is better to bring 

 things into the open, showing all the difficulties involved, because 

 someone may remove the difficulties later on. 



Dr. Goldstein calculated that the mutagenic effect of caffeine in 

 30 years could be as large as that of a radiation dose of 200,000 r. 

 On the basis of this calculation he suggested that even though the 

 figures may be due for very drastic change, it could be recommended, 

 at least as a precaution, that pregnant women take no caffeine. The 

 audience, or at least Dr. Russell, felt that perhaps it is still too early 

 for this recommendation. 



Goldstein: May I make a correction? The calculation that led to the 

 figure of 200,000 r, or 20,000 r, whatever you want it to be, is not a 

 calculation in which I place any confidence at all; in fact, I presented 

 it only to show that if you take a per-hour basis and translate it to 

 man, you get what seems to me an absurd figure. The figures that I 

 think are possibly closer to the truth are the figures that are derived on 

 an entirely different basis, which led to figures of the order of 50 r 

 for a 30-year exposure, or something like that. 



Zamenhof: There were some other suggestions made, which are less 

 drastic. If caffeine is really so mutagenic, perhaps it would also produce 

 sterility; sterility clinic could fui^nish some statistical data on this sub- 

 ject. Dr. Lederberg has brought up a point that many of the alkaloids 

 may be dangerous, not because they are mutagenic but because they 

 are spindle inhibitors, and would form chromosome nondisjunction or 

 mongoloids; caffeine might have been on the list of substances 

 potentially dangerous in this respect. An adult woman would be a good 

 target for such action. Colchicine or other agents were also worth 

 investigating. Dr. Lederberg then made the suggestion that we should 

 be alarmed by Dr. Goldstein's presentation, and the least we could do 

 is to continue research on this subject. 



Dr. Lederberg also pointed out that there should be more research, 

 not only on the subject of mutagenesis, but also on antimutagenesis; as 

 we all know. Dr. Novick has discovered that there is such a thing (28, 



