I. INTRODUCTION 
Good day, Mr. Chairman and other Committee members. It is a pleasure 
to have the opportunity to discuss with you Federal policies concerning 
recombinant DNA techniques. The focus of my remarks will be the 
activities of two organizations — the National Institutes of Health and 
the Federal Interagency Committee on Recombinant DNA Research. 
As you know, recent scientific developments in genetics, particu- 
larly in the last four years, have culminated in the development of a 
powerful new tool for research — the ability to join together genetic 
materials in cell-free systems to form recombinant DNA molecules. I 
would like to emphasize the point that recombinant DNA is a tool for 
accomplishing the types of research that scientists have been pursuing 
for decades . 
"DNA" — which is the shorthand way of saying "deoxryibonucleic acid" — 
is the material that determines hereditary characteristics of all known 
cells. These new techniques allow us to join together DNA segments from 
different sources or to rejoin the DNA from one source in a different 
order. This new and powerful tool of science has generated great hope 
and excitement and, concomitantly, many expressions of concern. 
Research using recombinant DNA techniques offers great promise for 
better understanding and Improved treatment of human diseases. Medical 
advances through use of this technology include the opportunity to 
explore complicated diseases and the functioning of cells, to better 
understand a variety of hereditary defects, and possibly (in the future) 
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