Dr. Donald S. Fredrickson 
Page 2 
September 7» 1976 
I would also suggest concerning the discussion of the spread of possibly 
hazardous agents (pp. 62-65) that the WEDUM report to which reference is made 
is subject to a rather different interpretation than that given — i.e. that 
the more favorable experience of recent years at thf Detrick installation is 
the consequence principally of the development of means of vaccinating the 
personnel against the agents under study, rather than the development of more 
effective containment facilities. While the issue may be debatable, I do not 
see how the two possibilities can be disentangled at this date. 
Finally, I would suggest that the discussion of "Possible Undesirable Impact" 
Cpp. 68-7^) is incomplete in that it does not consider the possible longer- 
range consequences that may evolve in Nature subsequent to transfer (intrinsic 
to these experiments) of genetic material across species lines. In this regard 
I would point out that while any one evolutionairy scenario will seem qiiite 
unlikely. Evolution as we know it is the outcome of what would seem to be, in 
each instance, an unlikely series of events. 
With best wishes. 
Robert L. Sinsheimer 
Chairman 
cc: Dr. Dewitt Stetten 
Appendix K — 7 
