26n SUendale Flaee 
Lo 8 Angeles, Cellfomie 90007 
May 5 , 1961 
leooBbineat OCA Actrleory CcHMittee 
Offloe of Reocsblnant IKA Aotiyltlee 
Rational Inatitotes of leelth 
Building 31f Room IjAS? 
Betheada, Maryland 20?05 
Oreetlngas 
It la contrary to oanona of erldenoe and loglo that the Coanittee Is nov 
oonslderlng deregulation of reeoablnant DUk aotlTltles* 
glnoe the last weakening of the Ooldellnes. a protein thought to be IqpHoa- 
ted In BovB*a sjudiu ae (aongoUaa)— htaun lnterferoi>— has been produced in three 
different alaroorgaalsatf* Tlral links to htaun cancer haws been traced, and lik* 
feetlous pethogenle naked DIA has been Identified^ Scandals InrrolTing misuse of 
reooadilnant ISA technology hsTs ooourred at two campuses of the UnlTBrslty of 
Calif omLa« 
Despite the erldenoe Indloatlre of the need for Increased caution, automated 
polynueleotlde syntheslaers hare appeared on the market, greatly sljig>lifying prop> 
oedurea for thoae mho would abuse this technologya And genetic engineering firms 
hare proliferated to a total capitalisation of nearly $it00 million* 
Quite clearly. It will beoome Increasingly easy for careless, hasty, subrerted, 
subrerelre, or deranged solentlste to sooner or later wreak major haroc to a major 
crop, Ureatoek species, or huaanlty* Truly relerant safety sidles hare been only 
m1 n1^ 1y attempt^, and eren these hare shown equlrooal results not oondudre to 
reassuranee* The 1^8 Influenaa pandemia Illustrated with 20,000.000 oorpses that 
a pathogealo rirus need not be *rlable* in the longterm sense to m derastatlng In 
the short run* 
It is time to subetantlally strengthen, net to woakan or discard, controls 
in this field* Members of the CoMlttee should consider oarefuUy how society 
and history might Judge them in the no^too-dlstant future* 
Douglas DeNlke, Fh«D. 
[5931 
