16 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATION 



For example, if they were designed in such a way as to permit simple machine association of 

 family name and specific disease, they could be used in providing clues as to what conditions 

 might be looked into with profit from a genetic point of view. 



It is recommended that the possibility and feasibility be explored of designing a model 

 form of medical record that would take into account its use in genetic surveys. How this 

 might be done is considered in the following closely related section on census data. 



3. Census Data and Human Genetics 



As with medical records, census records as now taken in the United States are of rela- 

 tively little use in genetic investigations, for they were not planned with this use in mind. A 

 thorough study of the feasibility of revising present census practices in the United States and 

 other countries with a view to increasing their usefulness to human genetics seems clearly 

 indicated. It is evident that the problem of how best to do this, even in a single nation, is 

 a large and complex one. The obvious advantages are so many, however, that this Committee 

 urges that an effort be made as soon as possible to look into the matter in the United States. 



Since this question of census records is so closely related to that of medical records in 

 general, serious consideration should be given to the commissioning of a special study group 

 to consider the two problems together. To be effective, such a study group should include 

 representatives of the medical profession, of the Bureau of the Census, of geneticists, and of 

 statisticians. Full advantage should be taken of the Canadian experience, preferably by in- 

 viting participation by members of the group responsible there. Such a study will undoubtedly 

 be a difficult and time-consuming one. The group selected to make it should consist of persons 

 not only properly qualified but also prepared to give adequate time and attention to it. 



4. The Support of Basic Genetic Research 



The uninhibited search for new knowledge for its own sake, without regard for its im- 

 mediate or even potential usefulness, has provided the main foundations for modern genetics 

 as it has for all other branches of science. It is therefore of the utmost importance that such 

 free inquiry in genetics should not decline in quantity or quality at the expense of investiga- 

 tions designed to solve problems of immediate practical value. It would be most unfortunate 

 if, because of superior facilities, higner salaries, or otherwise, manpower should be drained 

 away from basic genetic research to any significant degree. If the practical jobs that need 

 doing are to be done without decreasing the relative effort in basic work, new ways must be 

 found for supporting imaginative and creative workers in genetics and related fields and in 

 providing environments most conducive to their best efforts. 



Although they do not always succeed in doing so, academic institutions have long had 

 as one of their primary objectives the providing of environments favorable to creative achieve- 

 ments in all branches of knowledge. In the last several decades, however, they have probably 

 declined relatively in this regard, especially in the sciences. During this period funds for re- 

 search in science have increased manyfold while the faculty members with tenure in academic 

 institutions, even those in science, have increased by a relatively small factor. The resulting 

 imbalance is in need of correction in genetics as well as in other areas of science if the search 

 for new knowledge is not to become a serious limiting factor in overall progress. 



