Columbia University in the City of New York j New York,N. Y. 10027 
Donald S. Fredrickson, M.D. 
Director 
Department of Health, Education 
and Welfare 
Public Health Service 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, Maryland 20014 
Dear Dr. Fredrickson: 
Thank you for sending me the latest on proposed revised 
guidelines for Recombinant DNA Research (dated Firday, July 
28, 1978) in which you asked for my comments in review. 
This is very easy for me to do since I am opposed to all 
guidelines (although I will continue to abide by them, of 
course) . My experience in science has convinced me that 
scientists do a superb job, by and large, of policing them- 
selves. The disastrous effects of discoveries come not from 
the research laboratory but from the terrible abuses of these 
discoveries by society. In summary then, I favor the revised 
guidelines over the previous ones because they represent a 
relaxation of the restrictions on doing experiments. 
DEPARTMENT op BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 
Sherman faircnild center 
FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES 
August 9, 1978 
Yours sincerely 
Geoffrey Zubay 
Professor of Molecular 
Biology 
GZ/ls 
[A-5] 
