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OCTOBER 1955
NUCLEAR CONFERENCE--"The International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, in Geneva, was not only the largest meeting to date on nuclear energy but probably the most exciting international gathering of scientists ever held. One of the major surprises of the Conference was provided by President Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, Indian Cabinet member, in his opening address. Dr. Bhabha predicted that within 20 years it will be possible to derive energy from the controlled fusion of heavy hydrogen nuclei. Such a technological break-through would guarantee mankind a source of abundant energy essentially forever."
HEREDITY--"What right have we to assume randomness in the hereditary material, the product of a natural selection process which has operated for millions of years? In answer we can cite the fact that the sequence of digits in the number (3.14159265...) is also random: there is no discernible system or pattern in the sequence. We may imagine a mad mathematician who, searching for 'useful numbers,' writes down one random sequence after another until, after rejecting millions of numbers as useless, he finally stumbles on the random number and finds by test that it is very helpful indeed. Similarly in a living organism over eons of time the random mutations may once in a great while produce a sequence of nucleotides which blueprints a new and helpful enzyme.--George Gamow"
