Z 
Or the altered bacteria might have a competitive advantage, enhancing 
their survival in some niche within the ecosystem. 
Until the potential risks are better delineated and evaluated in 
light of developing scientific knowledge, the public should expect 
such research to be conducted under strict conditions ensuring safety. 
This was the fundamental principle that guided the Federal Interagency 
Committee on Recombinant DNA Research in its deliberations — that is, the 
desire to allow this significant research to continue while simultaneously 
protecting, as much as humanly possible, man and the environment from 
effects of potential hazards whose nature is as yet unknown. 
The Committee formally adopted this interim report by unanimous con- 
sent, save for abstentions by the representatives from the Council on 
Environmental Quality and the Department of Justice. 
II . Development of the NIH Guidelines on Recombinant DNA Research 
Approximately three years ago, because of the perceived potential 
hazards, scientists engaged in this research voluntarily called for a 
moratorium on certain experiments pending an assessment of risk and the 
development of appropriate guidelines. These scientists called upon the 
National Institutes of Health (NIH), of the Department of Health, 
Education, and Welfare, to create an advisory committee to develop such 
guidelines. After what NIH considered to be extensive scientific and 
public review, it released guidelines on June 23, 1976, which established 
strict conditions for the conduct of NIH-supported research in this 
area. The NIH Guidelines prohibit certain types of experiments and 
require special safety conditions for other types. The provision 0 
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