THE COMMITTEE ON GENETIC EXPERIMENTATION 
ICSU appointed an ad hoc group in 1975 to advise whether recombinant DNA 
research was an area in which ICSU should become involved. W.J. Whelan was the 
chairman and his committee's report is appended as Annex 1. There was a unanimous 
recommendation that ICSU establish a Scientific Committee with the objectives of 
serving as a source of advice to governments and non-governmental bodies alike, to 
review safeguards and other technical matters, to foster training and scientific exchange 
to be a medium through which national, regional and other international bodies might 
communicate and to be vigilant regarding the possibilities of deliberate and inadvertent 
dispersal of agents constructed by recombinant DNA techniques. 
The General Assembly of ICSU, meeting at the U.S. National Academy in 
October 1976, unanimously accepted this recommendation and widened the scope of the 
committee to include genetic experimentation in general. 
The membership of COGENE has now been assembled and is as follows: 
Eight members of COGENE have been appointed by seven ICSU unions and six 
members by the ICSU Executive Board. Four inter-governmental organizations have 
appointed observers. 
A. A. Bayev (USSR) 
IUB 
P. Berg (USA) 
IUPAC 
G. Bernardi (France) 
ICSU 
S.N. Cohen (USA) 
ICSU 
S. Glover (UK) 
IUBS 
H.N. Munro (USA) 
IUNS 
K. Murray (UK) 
IUPAB 
N. Notani (India) 
ICSU 
R. Riley (UK) 
IUBS 
A.M. Skalka (USA) 
IUPHAR 
C. Steinberg (Switzerland) 
IUIS 
J. Tooze (BDR) 
ICSU-Secretary 
I. Watanabe (Japan) 
ICSU 
W.J. Whelan (USA) 
ICSU-Chai rman 
f ers are: . 
A. Bozzini 
FAO 
A. A. Buzzati-Traverso 
UNEP 
S. Passman 
UNESCO 
K. Bogel 
WHO 
V. Sgaramella 
WHO 
The draft terms of reference of COGENE are appended as Annex 2. These are 
the terms recommended by COGENE for adoption by the General Committee at its next meeting 
COGENE held its first meeting in Paris on 20-21 May 1977. It was decided that 
there are three areas of recombinant DNA activities in which COGENE might immediately 
play a useful role. Working groups were appointed to study and advize on these topics. 
Their reports will form the basis of actions to be taken at the next meeting of COGENE. 
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