Ahead of the Curve: David Baltimore's Life in Science

NOTES

N O T E S P R O L O G U E 2 "TheAIDS epidemichas rolled back'?Edmund White, States ofDesire: Travels in Gay America (New York: Dutton, 1991)~ 342. But now, throughhis involvementwith theAIDS committee:Interviewwith David Baltimore , January 13, 1995. He currently has onegraduatestudent studyingHIV G.Nabel and D. Baltimore, "An Inducible Transcription Factor Activates Expression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in T cells," Nature 326 (1987): 711-713. "Myl@ is dedicated': Frank Magill, ed., TheNobelPrize Winners:Physiology orMedicine ,Volume3: 1969-1990 (Pasadena: Salem Press, 1991). "hmy view cancer'?David Baltimore, "The Impact of the Discovery of Oncogenes on Cancer Will Come Slowly," Cancer 59 (1987):198j-1986. 5 Vialsfull ofpoliovirusRNA: For examples of projects in the Baltimore lab, see N. C. Andrews and D. Baltimore, "Purification of a Terminal Uridylyl Transferase Which Acts as Host Factor in the In Vitro Poliovirus Replicase Reaction," PNAS 83 (1986): 221-225; P. Sarnow, H. D. Bernstein, and D. Baltimore, "A Poliovirus TemperatureSensitive RNA Synthesis Mutant Located in a Noncoding Region of the Genome," PNAS 83 (1986):571-575; K. Kirkegaard and D. Baltimore, "The Mechanism of RNA Recombination in Poliovirus," Cell 47 (1986):433-443; R. Sen and D. Baltimore, "Multiple Nuclear Factors Interact with the Immunoglobulin Enhancer Sequences ,"Ce1147 (1986):921-928; and M. Lenardo,J. Pierce, and D. Baltimore, "Pro- tein Binding Sites in Ig Gene Enhancers Determine Transcriptional Activity and Inducibility ," Science 236 (1987): 1573-1577. 5 Brilliant, eloquent, andpersonable: S. E. Luria, A Slot Machine, A Broken Test Tube: An Autobiography (NewYork: Harper and Row, 1984);interviews with Paul Berg, Inder Verma, and confidential sources. "Hehas the best killer instincts'?Conversations with confidential sources. 6 '2is not an exaggeration': Confidential letter of recommendation quoted in MIT Tech Talk,June 5,1995 OnefellowNobel Prize winner: See Bernadine Healy, "The Dangers ofTrial by Dingell ," New York Times,July 3 1996;Maxine Singer, "Assault on Science," Washington Post, June 26, 1996. '7know what I believe': Interview with David Baltimore, January 13, 1995. O N E : G R E A T N E C K , L O N G I S L A N D Baltimore's birthdate is not specificallymentioned in the text. Hewas born on March 7, 1938,in New York Hospital in Manhattan. 7 He was one of thosestudents: Interview with Robert Baltimore, July 22, 1996. 8 A Shimmy Bird starts dancing: Rube Goldberg, The Best of Rube Goldberg (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1979). 9 He recallshaving ' 2kind of knee-jerk reaction'?Charlie Weiner interview with David Baltimore, May 13, 1975, MIT Archives, Recombinant DNA History Collection. He was accepted, and in early summer: Interview with David Baltimore, March 23, 1994;interview with Robert Baltimore; Charlie Weiner interview with David Baltimore . Shortlythereafter,atageeighteen, hepublished:Theodore Ingalls, Frederick Avis, Francis Curley,and H. M.Temin, "Genetic Determinants of Hypoxia-Induced Congential Anomalies,"Journal of Heredity 44 (1953):185-193. "Willbe one of thefuturegiants': Halcyon, Swarthmore College yearbook, 1955. 11 Months later, the mouse with the skin graft: Willys Silvers and Elizabeth Russell, "An Experimental Approach to Action of Genes at the Agouti Locus in the Mouse,"Journal ofExperimentalZoology 130 (1955):139-220; Willys Silvers, "Genes and the Pigment Cells of Mammals," Science 134 (1961):368-373. David didn't like killing mice: Interview with roommate Gil Harman, May 11,1998. He and David shared an apartment in Cambridge during their first year of graduate school. 12 venerated him': David Baltimore, "In Memoriam: Howard Temin, the Fierce Scholar," Cell 76 (1994):967-968. He encouragedyoung scientists:Baltimore, "Thinking about Howard Temin," Genes and Development 9 (1995):1303-1306. 2 2 4 N O T E S 13 "That was it':.Interview with David Baltimore, March 23, 1994. Theyarefriends to this day: Interview with David Baltimore, January Ig, 1997;interview with Keith Yamamoto, November 12, 1996. David loved it: Interview with David Baltimore, January 13, 1995. "They'wgreedy?'? This and subsequent quotations from Jean Giraudoux, The Madwoman of Chaillot (La folle Chaillot), trans. Maurice Valency (New York: Random House, 1947)~ 135, 29-30,131. 14 Swarthmoreiacademicreputation:Saturday Evening Post, 1956,cited by Richard Walton , Swarthmore College:An Informal History (Swarthmore: Swarthmore, 1986). He enrolled at Swarthmore: Information on David's decision to attend Swarthmore comes from David Baltimore, "Milestones in Biological Research: Discovery of the ReverseTranscriptase," FASEBJournal 9 (1995):1-4; Charlie Weiner interview with David Baltimore; author interview with David Baltimore, March 23, 1994. TWO...