WASHINGTON POST 
Washington, D.C., 6/24/76 
Some Research forms Banned 
Guidelines Issued on Life Creation 
By Stuart Auerbach 
Washington Post Staff Writer 
After two years of inten- 
sive debate, the National In- 
stitutes of Health issued 
strict guidelines yesterday 
designed to allow scientists 
to create new forms of life 
without endangering the 
world. 
These guidelines, which 
arc expected to be adopted 
by other federal agencies 
and scientists across the 
globe, ban certain forms of 
research as too dangerous 
and set biological and physi- 
cal safeguards for other ex- 
periments. 
This new form of genetic 
engineering, on the frontier 
of today’s biological revolu- 
tion, holds the promise of 
increasing the world’s food 
supply and making scarce 
medicines readily available 
at a low price. 
But the creation of new 
forms of life also raises the 
possibility of untold hazards 
—including creating • more 
drug-resistant germs or in- 
creasing the incidence of 
cancer. 
“You can conceive an end- 
less list of possibilities of 
hazards,” said Dr. Donald S. 
Fredrickson, director of 
NIH. “It is really the un- 
known that is the source of 
the fear, not specific and 
certain hazards that could 
happen." 
But the unknown hazards 
were enough to prompt sci- 
entists working in the field 
of recombinant DNA (de- 
oxyribonucleic acid which 
determines inherited traits) 
to call in June, 1974, for a 
moratorium until guidelines 
could be drawn. Recombi- 
nant DNA is the combining 
of DNA molecules of dif- 
ferent species to create new 
forms of life. 
Frederickson said the 
moritorium represented ^hc 
first time in the history of 
science that researchers 
have voluntarily stepped 
back to make sure their ex- 
periments would not cause 
greater harm than good. 
The NIH guidelines, Fred- 
rickson said, are stricter 
than ones drafted by an in- 
ternational committee of sci- 
entists meeting in March, 
1975, at Asilomar, Calif., and 
by an NIH advisory commit- 
tee. 
For example, the new 
guidelines, which govern 
NIH-sponsored research, for- 
bid letting any new forms of 
life into the atmosphere. 
Also banned outright arc 
experiments involving 
highly poisonous substances 
such as the virus that causes 
See GENETICS, A15, Col. 2 
JOURNAL 
Providence, R.I., 6/24/76 
Genetic research 
guidelines issued 
N IH Issues Strict Guidelines on Life Creation 
Research 
GENETICS, From A1 
the deadly Lassa fever: the 
use of some viruses known 
to cause cancer; the forma 
tion of hybrids that contain 
the genes for poisons, in- 
cluding snake venom, or the 
transfer of drug-resistant 
traits to germs. 
The NIH guidelines follow 
a general rule that the ri- 
skier the experiment, the 
more strignent the safe 
guards should be. 
These include the use of 
supersafe labs with ventila- 
tion and sewerage systems 
that make sure contami 
nated air and wastes do not 
get outside. In such labs 
which can cost up to 
$750,000, experiments con 
tainers with chemicals ma- 
nipulated throught built-in 
heavy gloves. 
The guidelines require the 
use of "failsafe bugs” that 
cannot exist outside of spe- 
cial laboratoryconditions. 
Recombinaant DNA re- 
search, became possible 
within the past four years 
with the discovery that en- 
zymes can chemically cleave 
the twisted strands of DNA, 
leaving them with stick} 
ends ‘that can be joined 
with other cut pieces of 
DNA. 
THESE COMBINED 
STRANDS OF DNA— new 
forms of life not known in 
nature — can be transplanted 
into bacteria, where they 
will reproduce quickly. 
Aside from the new 
knowledge it will provide 
about basic genetics, Freder- 
ickson said the technique 
has practical benefits. It 
can for example, allow the 
production of large amounts 
of rare hormones such as 
antihemophilic globulin, 
used to treat bleeding 
DONALD S. FREDERICKSON. 
. . . “an endless list” 
diseases, or insiili'vwhich is 
becoming rarer and is 
needed for diabetics. 
Agricultural scientists are 
TRIBUNE 
Lewiston, Idaho, 6/24/76 
New life 
hoping to graft on to other 
plants a gene that allows 
plants such as beans and al- 
falfa to take nitgrogen from 
the air and make its own 
fertilizer. 
Despite, the safeguards- 
proposed in the NIH guide 
lines, some scientists believe 
that any recombinant DN A 
research is too risky to be 
pursued. Im Cambridge. 
Mass., for example, a grotip 
of Harvard and Massachu- 
setts Institute of Technology 
researchers are fighting 
Harvard’s plans to build a 
special lab for such experi- 
ments. 
Fredrickson said N 1 1 1 will 
file a statement by Sept. 1. 
on the environmental im- 
pact of the guidelines, which 
are effective immediately. 
XI H spends about $4 mil 
lion to fund recombinant 
DNA research and has an- 
other S3. 5 million available 
to improve labs to meet the 
new safety standards. In or- 
der to get this money. Fred- 
erickson said. scientists 
must follow the guidelines. 
The other major federal 
source of money for this res- 
search, the National Science 
Foundation, will recommend 
that its rule-making body, 
the National Science Board, 
adopt the NIH guidelines, 
foundation officials said. 
JOURNAL 
Montgomery, Ala., 
i/23/76 
Genetic Research 
Guidelines 
Ban Some 
'bangerous' 
Experiments 
A guide to 
genetic testing 
Washington Post 
WASHINGTON — After two years 
of intensive debate, the National In- 
stitutes of Health issued strict 
guidelines Wednesday designed to 
allow scientists to create new forms 
of life without endangering the 
world. 
These guidelines, which are ex- 
pected to be adopted by other 
federal agencies and scientists 
across the globe ban certain forms 
of research as too dangerous and set 
biological and physical safeguards 
for other experiments. 
This new form of genetic 
engineering, on the frontier of 
today's biological revolution, holds 
the promise of increasing the 
world's food supply and making 
scarce medicines readily available 
at a low price 
But the creation of new forms ol 
life also raises the possibility of un- 
told hazards — including creating 
more drug resistant germs or in- 
creasing the incidence of cancer 
You can conceive an endless list 
of possibilities of hazards, said Dr 
Donald S. Fredrickson, director of 
NIH It is really the unknown that 
is the source of the tear, not specific 
and certain hazards that could 
happen 
But the unknown hazards were 
enough to prompt scientists working 
in the field ol recombinant DNA 
i deoxyribonucleic acid, which 
determines inherited traits) to call 
in June 1974 for a moritorium on 
research until guidelines could be 
drawn Recombinant DNA is the 
combining of DNA molecules of 
different species to create new 
forms of life. 
Fredrickson said the moratorium 
represented the first time in the 
history of science that researchers 
have voluntarily stepped back to 
make sure their experiments would 
not cause greater harm' fhan good. 
The NIH guidelines. Fredrickson 
said, are st riclcr than ones drafted 
by an international committee of 
scientists meeting in March 1975. at 
Asilomar. Calif . and by an NIH ad- 
visory committee 
For example, the new guidelines, 
which govern NIH-sponsored 
research, forbid letting any new 
forms of life into the atmosphere. 
Also banned outright are ex- 
periments involving highly 
poisonous substances such as the 
virus that causes the deadly Lassa 
lever: the use of some viruses 
known to cause cancer; the for- 
mation of hybrids that contain the 
genes for poisons, including snake 
venom, or (he transfer of drug- 
resistant traits to germs 
The Nlll guidelines follow a 
general rule that the riskier the ex- 
periment. the more stringent the 
safeguards should be. 
EVENING NEWS 
Buffalo, N.Y. , 6/23/76 
NIH Issues Genetic Research Guidelines, Bar on Some Experiments 
[ 578 ] 
