APPENDIX E 
On June 23, 1976, Donald S. Fredrickson, Director, National Institutes 
\J 
of Health, announced pubi ication of guidel ines designed to el iminate or 
minimize any potentially hazardous consequences of what has been called 
recombinant DNA research. The guidelines were subsequently published in 
the United States Government publication, the Federal Register (Part II for 
7 July 1976) . 
The promulgated guidelines are the result of a year and a half of 
intensive work by the NIH Recombinant DNA Molecule Program Advisory Committee 
(hereafter called the Advisory Committee) as well as consideration of a variety 
of views expressed to the Director either in writing or at a public hearing in 
February 1976. A summary of the history of the development of the guidelines 
as well as the various views expressed by many commentators is given in the 
1 / 
Director's Decision Statement , which accompanied publication of the guidelines. 
For the purposes of the guidelines recombinant DNA experiments are defined 
as those involving molecules that consist of different segments of DNA which 
have been joined together in cell-free systems, and which have the capacity 
to infect and replicate in some host cell, either autonomously or as an 
integrated part of the host's genome. Figure 1 depicts a generalized recom- 
binant DNA experiment and defines certain terms as they are used in the 
guidel i nes . 
Appendix E — 2 
