3 
manner in which the scientific community and NIH have approached 
the new technology involving recombinant DNA molecules. 
Prior to the promulgation of the NIH Guidelines in 
1976, the scientific community operated for several years 
under a voluntary moratorium on certain kinds of recombinant 
DNA experiments. EIS at 15-17. The ability to perform recom- 
binant DNA experiments was first generally recognized in 1973. 
Id . In response to concerns expressed about the unknown 
possibilities of the technique, NIH organized an Advisory 
Committee in 1974 to advise it on appropriate controls on the 
research and participated in a conference at Asilomar, California, 
in 1975. Id. The Asilomar Conference developed voluntary 
guidelines which were substantially followed throughout the 
scientific community. Id. at 17-19. NIH recognized the need 
for more formal guidelines and began to prepare them. Id . 
at 19-20. As part of this process, a public meeting was held 
by NIH on February 9 and 10, 1976, at which issues concerning 
the research and the Guidelines were discussed. Prior to the 
meeting, a Federal Register announcement was published indicating 
the subject, time and place of the meeting, the person to be 
contacted for materials and further information, that the public 
could attend, and that both oral and written comments were 
welcome. 41 Fed. Reg. 2105 (January 14, 1976). 
Thereafter, NIH published the "Decision of the 
Director, NIH," and the Guidelines in full in the Federal 
Register on July 7, 1976. 41 Fed. Reg. 27902 (1976). The 
Guidelines apply to all NIH- funded research and require 
that before such research employing recombinant DNA techniques 
may proceed, a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement (MUA) 
[Appendix C — 111] 
