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1 and limited recombinant DNA research. There is no 
2 question about that. Aside from the great expense of 
3 the required physical facilities and the enormous 
4 amount of bureaucratic work that has to be overcome 
5 and applications that have to be filed, even for the 
6 exchange of something which has been called "character- 
7 ized" and "free of harmful genes," requires enormous 
0 numbers of applications and very special conditions. 
9 But this is minor compared to the fact, in my mind, 
10 that certain kinds of experiments have not been possible 
11 to do because of the existing guidelines, or, if they 
12 have been able to be begun, they have begun very slowly. 
13 I am thinking particularly of recombinant 
14 DNA research with viral and human DNA. We are faced with 
15 the extraordinary paradox that it is considered safer to 
16 study a living virus that is known to be infectious than 
17 it is to put one or more of its genes inside the harmless 
18 bacteria, E. col i . If we were rational, we would in fact 
19 encourage the use of viral genes recombined in bacteria 
20 as a means of biological containment. 
21 Although no viral DNA cloning has been permitted, 
22 the advent of these disabled vectors has permitted the 
23 beginning of human DNA experiments. It seems to me that 
24 these are two very important research areas in biology which 
25 must be pursued for the benefit of mankind -- that is. 
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