UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO 
BERKELEY • DAVIS • IRVINE • LOS ANGELES • RIVERSIDE • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO 
SANTA BARBARA • SANTA CRUZ 
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 
DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS 
SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA 94143 
1421 HSW 
June 20, 1982 
Dr. William Gartland, Jr. 
Director 
Office of Recombinant DNA Activities 
Building 31 » Room 4A52 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, Maryland 20205 
Dear Dr. Gartland: 
I am writing to urge adoption of the proposed ammendment to the 
NIH Recombinant DNA Guidelines placing the development of 
biological weapons based on molecular cloning on the "prohibited" 
list. As a geneticist I am very aware of the potential utility 
of molecular cloning in the development of biological weapons. 
I believe that the use of molecular cloning for such purposes 
would represent one of the most dangerous, horrifying misuses 
of science imaginable — increasing the dangers of biological 
warfare and eliminating the distinction between offensive and 
defensive weapons. Adoption of this Ammendment would put the 
scientific community on record in opposition to such research 
and would promote public recognition and debate concerning the 
dangers of such research. 
Sincerely, 
Jon Well, Ph.D 
[ 806 ] 
