Eugene. Oregon 97403 
503/686-5151 
December 13, 1979 
Dr. Donald Fredrickson, Director 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, MD 20205 
Dear Dr. Fredrickson, 
I and my interested colleagues in Molecular Biology have examined 
the proposed revised guidelines for recombinant DNA research that 
appeared in the Federal Register of November 30. 
Our consensus was that the proposed guidelines are more cautious 
than is justified on scientific grounds. However, since the concerns one 
might have regarding the safety of recombinant DNA experiments are, 
themselves, nonscientif ic , such a bias may be inevitable. In any case, 
we welcome the facilitating effect that the revision is certain to have 
for basic biological research. 
Sincerely yours. 
Franklin W. Stahl 
FWS: jd 
[ 465 ] 
an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer 
