I K THE GREEK LIXESD, Promc'thcus stoic ihc fire from the gods and was punished for his dar- ing. Zeus chained hnn to the top of a mountain and sent vultures to feed on his liver. Having already sto- len fire and the secrets of the atom, science js now on the verge of unlocking the secret of creating neu forms of life. In 1973, biochemists found that it would be possible to join the genetic material called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from different species and transplant the resulting product in living ceils. With such recombination and transplantation it may be possible to change the genes of plants, animals or even human beings and thus to manipulate them at will. Genetic manipulation has untold potential for good as well as harm. It may be used to combat wr- tain diseases and increase the food suppl.`:. But it ma) also create and infect the world with new diseases and cause cataslrophcs-a kind of latter-day wralh of ZtYlS. The first group of scientists: ~vho worked on ali this recognized the perils and asked the National Acad- emy of Science to call for voluntary restraints on re- search and experimentation until their potential could be evaluated. In 1974, Dr. Paul Berg and his col- leagues, backed by the Academy, called for a morato- rium until the National Institutes of Health, which fund most DNA research in this country, could isshe guidelines on how to safeguard against potential haz- ards, *With the lure of potentially fabulous benefits, considerable interest on the part of 1J.S. Army biolog- ical warfare laboratories, industrial and international ambition and competition, the moratorium was not an easy thing to ask for. It was clear that voluntary n'evertheless, the breakthrough has now CJC ~urrcd. Dr. Donald S. Frederickson, on behalf of the Nattonal Institutes of Health, issued "Guidelines (.;vwrninr: Research In;-olving Recnmbinant DN:1 Molec`ulcs" the other day. They ban experiments with highly poi- sonous substances and carefully prescribe essential safeguards for laboratory lvork with others. The safe- guards require very expensive laboratory facilities, but that, in turn, guards against uncontrolled prolif- eration of DIVA experiments. Much as astronomers must often travel to a distant, expensive observatory for more complex vvork, biologists will he able to un- dertake certain esperiments u1i1y in a limited num- her of espcnsive laboratories. Not everyone is happy \vith the guidelines. SOIUC scientists feel that it is idiocy to attrrnpt tht curbing of scientific pursuits. Others helicve all rt~~~+r~h that might lead to genetic manipulation should bc prohib- ited. The guidelines steer a narrow but. apparentl!., safe course between these extremes. In the end, they only extend the age-old medical admonition of pr!- mum non nocere-first of all, do no harm-to a new frontier of potential discovery. The prognosis is good: The two-year moratorium, which preceded the guide- lines, seems to have been observed all around. For- eign scientists, including the Soviets, appear to be rc- ceptive to the idea of proceeding with caution. The U.S. guidelines are iikely to be accepted as a modt:l by the World Health Organization and other interna- tional scientific organizations. The C.S. scientists \vho urged this breakthrough- and worked hard to achieve it-dcscrve gratitutiu and congratulations.