Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in discussions concerning recombin- 
ant DNA research. 
ICSU is a nongovernmental scientific organization composed of 18 
international scientific unions (each representing individual scientific 
disciplines) and more then 60 national research councils, academies of 
science, or similar national scientific institutions. This dual member- 
ship, unique to ICSU, is organized into the following structure: 
• the General Assembly — consists of representatives of both the 
national bodies and the scientific unions, meets biannually, 
and is the policy-making arm of the Council; 
• the General Committee — includes representatives of both of 
the membership components, meets annually to review scientific 
activities and to set priorities on science affairs; 
• the Executive Board — consists of 10 persons, including the 
officers of ICSU, and directs affairs between Council sessions; 
• the Secretariat — located in Paris, assists in the administration 
of ICSU; and 
• committees and commissions — created to coordinate activities 
in a research area that does not fall completely under the 
aegis of a single scientific union. 
Funding is received from dues paid by the unions, national members, 
cooperating organizations (such as UNESCO), and from intergovernmental 
organizations supporting targeted projects. 
In response to a recommendation of an ad hoc committee, ICSU created 
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