Biochemist Paul Berg of Stanford University, who received the 1980 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his pioneering work in genetic engineering, will present public talks April 22 and 23 at the University of California, Davis, as the Kosuge Memorial Lecturer. He will deliver a general talk, titled "Genes and Disease," at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 23. A technical lecture titled "Modification of Specific Chromosomal Loci by Recombination in Eukaryotic Cells" will be presented at 4:10 p.m. Wednesday, April 22. Both talks will be given in Building C of the Health Sciences Complex. Berg and his colleagues have been active in developing new recombinant DNA techniques for exploring the chemistry and biology of mammalian and human chromosomes in hopes of providing the basic knowledge needed to prevent, manage and cure hereditary diseases. He is currently a member of the advisory board of the Human Genome Project, devoted to locating and identifying all of the genes responsible for the development and operation of the human body. Berg is continuing his study of the mechanism of gene expression -- how the gene manifests itself in higher organisms -- and is particularly interested in how genes regulate growth and division of cells. Specifically, he has developed new approaches to analyzing the structure of chromosomes and the role of gene recombination in altering key traits in these organisms. He received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1980 for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids and recombinant DNA, leading to the development of techniques for genetic engineering. Berg also has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the French Academy of Sciences. He received the National Medal of Science in 1985. The Kosuge Memorial Lectureship, which is sponsoring Berg's visit, was established in honor of the late Tsune Kosuge, a UC Davis professor of plant pathology and a pioneer in the application of biochemical techniques to problems of plant disease.