Ch.1 — Summary: Issues and Options *11 
Little is now being done publicly or pri\ ately to 
de\ elop the expertise necessary. 
D. Congress could use ta\ incentives to stimulate 
hiotechnologv. 
The tax laws could be used to stimulate bio- 
technolog\' by expanding the supply of capital 
for small, high-risk firms, which are generally 
considered more inno\ati\e than established 
firms because of their w illingness to undertake 
the risks of innoxation. In addition to focusing 
on the supply of capital, tax policy could at- 
tempt to directly increase the profitability of 
potential growth companies. 
A tax incentixe could also be directed at in- 
creasing R&.D expenditures. It has been sug- 
gested that companies be permitted to take tax 
credits: 1) on a certain percentage of their R&.D 
expenses: and 2) on contributions to unix ersities 
! for research. 
’ E. Congress could improve the conditions under 
which U.S. companies collaborate with aca- 
demic scientists and make use of the technol- 
ogy developed in universities, which has been 
wholly or partly supported by ta\ funds. 
Dexelopments in genetic engineering have 
kindled interest in this option. Under legislation 
that has recently passed both Houses of Con- 
gress, small businesses and unix ersities may re- 
tain title to inx entions developed under federal- 
ly funded research. Currently, some Federal 
agencies axvard contractors these exclusive 
rights, xvhile others insist on the nonexclusive 
licensing of inx entions. 
F. Congress could mandate support for specific 
research tasks such as pollution control using 
microbes. 
Microbes may he useful in degrading intrac- 
table xvastes and pollutants. Current research, 
hoxvex er, is limited to isolating organisms from 
natural sources or from mutated cultures. More 
elaborate efforts, involving rDNA techniques or 
other forms of microbial genetic exchange, will 
require additional funding. 
G. Most efforts could be left to industry and each 
Government agency allowed to develop pro- 
grams in the fields of genetic engineering and 
biotechnology as it sees fit. 
Generic research xvill probably not be under- 
taken by any one company. Leaving all R&,D in 
industry’s hands would still produce major com- 
mercial successes, but does not ensure the de- 
x elopment of needed basic general knowledge 
or the undertaking of high-risk projects. 
Agriculture 
The complexity of plants and animals pre- 
sents a greater challenge to advances in applied 
genetics than that posed by micro-organisms. 
Nexertheless, the successful genetic manipula- 
tion of microbes has encouraged researchers in 
the agricultural sciences. The nexv tools xvill be 
used to complement, but not replace, the well- 
established practices of plant and animal 
breeding. 
The applications of genetics to plants 
FIXDIIVGS 
It is impossible to exactly determine the ex- 
tent to xvhich applied genetics has directly con- 
tributed to increases in plant yield because of 
simultaneous improvements in farm manage- 
ment, pest control, and cropping techniques 
using herbicides, irrigation, and fertilizers. 
Nevertheless, the impacts of breeding technol- 
ogies have been extensive. 
The plant breeder’s approach is determined 
for the most part by the particular biological 
factors of the crop being bred. The new genetic 
technologies potentially offer additional tools to 
allow development of new varieties and even 
species of plants by circumventing current bio- 
logical barriers to the exchange of genetic 
material. 
Technologies developed for classical plant 
breeding and those of the new genetics should 
not be viewed as being compretftive; they are 
both tools for effectively manipulating genetic 
