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of disease, the improvement of the marine environment, and, incidentally, the 

 identification of materials for possible pharmacological use. The other aspect is 

 the promotion for additional utilization of available shellfish resources which 

 might otherwise be hazardous for human consumption. 



Among recent research accomplishments resulting from work supported by this 

 program are the following : 



Work on viruses in shellfish has elucidated the rate at which shellfish 

 accumulate viruses, their location in the organism, and methods for elimi- 

 nating them from the shellfish. 



Some naturally occurring marine biotoxins have been substantially isolated 

 and work is progressing on their identification and physiological action. 



Anti-viral and anti-tumor properties have been demonstrated in shellfish 

 extracts. 

 To turn to another part of the Public Health Service, the activities of the Na- 

 tional Institutes of Health in the marine science field, related entirely to re- 

 search, include no program targeted at the marine environment. Rather, the NIH 

 activities which fall into the marine science field are a part of the overall NIH 

 research program aimed at the acquisition of biomedical knowledge and the 

 attack upon human disease. While the work which I will describe relates to 

 marine science in a significant way, marine science as such is not a respon- 

 sibility of the National Institutes of Health. 



The largest segment of research done or supported by NIH and relating to 

 the marine sciences consists of research performed on marine life — not for the 

 primary purpose of expanding knowledge of the marine organism itself, but 

 because of usefulness of the marine organism in expanding knowledge about 

 man. Almost every one of the disease-oriented Institutes of NIH is involved 

 in work on marine organisms. The following are illustrations : 



Study of immune phenomena in lower forms of marine animals. 

 Research on the parasites of fish and shellfish to discover how they may 

 serve as reservoirs or vectors of disease. 

 Projects on cell division, protein synthesis, and neoplasms of fish. 

 Projects on calcification and demineralization mechanisms in marine 

 organisms. 



Study of the cephalopod lens and its formation. 



Studies on the developmental biology and uptake of chemical compounds 

 by marine invertebrates. 



Studies of marine mammals relating to their protein structure, blood 

 flow, and salt and water balance. 

 There are many more such investigations. 



NIH also is engaged in, or funds, marine science-related projects in nutrition 

 (e.g., the studies of marine oils and their effects on plasma lipids when fed to 

 man) and projects on antibiotics in the sea and on marine toxins. 



NIH can also support marine science in other indirect ways. For instance, NIH 

 sponsored an international symposiiun in January 1967 on Comparative Pharma- 

 cology ; a large number of the papers presented at the symposium dealt with ma- 

 rine organisms or pharmacologically active substances derived from them. Also, 

 institutions may apply for support for the construction of biomedical research fa- 

 cilities which may be used for marine-related scientific effort. 



The research, technological, and scientific activities of the Food and Drug Ad- 

 ministration in the marine science field are based on FDA's statutory respon- 

 sibilities under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and its amendments; they 

 relate largely to the disease and contamination problems encountered in perform- 

 ing its food regulation function. It is FDA's job to detect unsanitary food, in- 

 jurious, poisonous, or dirty substances in food, and unhealthful packaging, and 

 to remove the "adulterated" product from interstate commerce. FDA does not 

 have authority to develop marine resources. 



In this context, FDA has conducted scientific and technological research on a 

 wide variety of problems related to the healthfulness of marine food products. 

 The following are examples : 



Sanitation and decomposition. 



Disease-producing viruses and bacteria in marine foods. 

 Presence of pesticide and antibiotic residues, trace elements, and other 

 products in marine foods. 



Possible toxic agents in smoked fish. 

 The activities of FDA in the marine science field to some extent fall within areas 

 of investigation in which the Public Health Service is also engaged. 



