Page 27 of Attachment E 
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Section V 
COMMENTS ON OTHER RELEVANT ACTIONS 
AND REPORTS 
(1) Report of a U.S. National Academy of Sciences Panel on 
Risks and Benefits of Recombinant DNA Research Per- 
formed under the NIH Guidelines (Nov. 1, 1977). 
(2) Testimony of Philip Handler, President of the U.S. National 
Academy of Science, before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee 
Hearing (Nov. 2, 1977). 
(3) Falmouth Workshop (June 20-21, 1977). 
(4) International Symposium on Genetic Engineering, co- 
sponsored by WHO and the Lorenzini Foundation (March 29- 
31, 1978). 
(5) Proposed revised NIH Guidelines (September 1977) and 
Public Meeting for Consideration (Dec. 15 and 16, 1977). 
(6) Report of the Workshop to Assess Risks for Recombinant 
DNA Experiments Involving Viral Genomes, co-sponsored by 
NIH and EMBO (Jan. 26-28, 1977). 
A number of reports have been compiled in connection with meetings 
and hearings which contain material relevant to risk assessment. Many 
of these are listed in the bibliography or referred to by the various 
respondents to our Questionnaire. These include: 
(1) A report of the ‘‘Panel on Risks and Benefits of Recombinant 
DNA Research Performed under the NIH Guidelines” 
prepared by an ad hoc Committee of the U.S. National 
Academy of Sciences (Nov. 1, 1977); and 
(2) Testimony of Philip Handler, President of the U.S. National 
Academy of Sciences before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee’s 
Hearing on November 2, 1977. 
(These documents are not readily available and are therefore 
included in their entirety in Part II of this report). 
Members of the Panel mentioned above were chosen for their special 
competences and with regard for appropriate balance, from among 
members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the National 
Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. This ad hoc 
panel was formed in response to a request from U.S. Congressman Paul 
Rogers, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health Affairs of the House 
Committee on Interstate Commerce. Their report, which was approved 
by an independent group from the same societies, reviewed the history 
which led to the controversy surrounding Recombinant DNA Research 
and to the development of the NIH Guidelines. They considered 
potential risks and benefits, within the context of these Guidelines. The 
report lists six items considered to embody the major causes of concern 
regarding recombinant DNA research, and discusses the validity (or lack 
of it) for each one at great length. The six items are: 
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