139 
The viruses in this category are not human pathogens, and they repre- 
sent animal model systems which are of great biomedical importance. The 
current practical moratorium on recombinant DNA research with these systems 
does not seem to be a sound balance of risk and benefit. 
DR. FREDRICKSON: Dr. Skalka, I am going to return to Dr. Rowe. I didn't 
realize you were going to give a public witness statement. 
DR. SKALKA: Well, it was just a reading of my letter. 
DR. FREDRICKSON: Back to Dr. Sinsheimer. 
DR. SINSHEIMER: I just wondered — you mentioned that adenovirus, if I 
heard you right, you commonly find antibodies in humans to the adeno-2. Do 
you find any traces of adeno genome in the cells of humans? 
DR. ROWE: Maurice Green — Well, I am sure you would in the tonsils of 
children, because that is where they reside, at least through adolescence, 
probably. Maurice Green has used the highly labeled probes, fractions of 
probes, and has never been able to find any adenovirus gene sequences in a 
wide variety of human tumors as well as normal tissues. I don't know what 
he finds with the adenoids and tonsils. They can persist in low-grade 
infectious form in lymphoid tissues. 
DR. FREDRICKSON: Further comments or questions for Dr. Rowe? 
If not, both he and Dr. Helinski will still be available. Mr. Hutt. 
MR. HUTT: Could, he respond to the specific comment in the letter that 
might be useful at this stage? 
DR. FREDRICKSON: To the letter or statement that Dr. Skalka just made? 
MR. HUTT: Yes. 
DR. FREDRICKSON: There were several. 
MR. HUTT: The burden was that putting it on the level that it has been 
placed has simply banned this type of research, which is very valuable, and 
there is a relatively low risk. 
DR. ROWE: That is certainly my personal feeling now, yes. 
MR. HUTT: Well, could you describe, if that is your personal feeling, 
why the Committee came out the way it did? 
DR. ROWE: An exercise in mass psychology. I think there is just this 
lingering element of infectious nucleic acids, known infectious nucleic 
acids in cells that have the capacity to maintain themselves, the highly 
theoretical capacity and now very unlikely capacity to maintain themselves 
in nature. 
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