Report of the Organizing Committee of the Asilomar 
Conference on Recombinant DNA Molecules 
In its report to the Assembly of Life Sciences of the National B.e search 
Council (Science 185 :303 (1974)), the C ommittee on Recombinant DNA Molecule 
urged that an international meeting of involved scientists from through- 
out the world be convened to review scientific progress in this area 
and to discuss appropriate ways to deal with the potential biohazards 
of recombinant DNA molecules. The Asilomar Conference on P„e- 
combinant DNA Molecules met during February 24-27, 1975, at the 
Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. This 
v 
report, drafted by the Organi-z-ing Committee (Paul Berg, Chairman, 
David Baltimore, Sydney Brenner, Richard Roblin and Maxine Singer), 
summarizes the organization, proceedings and recommendations of 
the Conference. 
The Conference was sponsored by the U.S. National Academy 
of Sciences with financial support from the National Cancer Institute 
of the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. 
Besides providing the administrative and travel costs needed to organ- 
ize the meeting, these funds paid the travel and living expenses for 
many of the U.S. and foreign participants. 
To ensure both the greatest opportunity for effective discus- 
sions of the relevant scientific issues and the most frank and searching 
analysis of the potential risks, attendance at the Conference was 
limited. Individuals receiving invitations from the Organizing Com- 
mittee were a) chosen by the chairmen responsible for the scientific 
and discussion sessions, b) presently engaged in or contemplating 
researches with recombinant DNA molecules and c) experts who could 
provide special information and insight to the question of a.ssessing 
and dealing with the potential hazards of such work. Though official 
representation from U.S. as well as foreign scientific and govern- 
mental agencies was not sought, many of these organizations were 
informed as to those that had been invited to participate, in the Conference. 
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