c/
a'; i

put the research perhaps in proper prospect in the long run of things to come.

t seems clear th

directly with the cells in much the same way as one can prepare DNA from

certain strains of bacteria and add them to other strains of bacteria. A

     f
certain proportion o/bacteria will take up the genetic message and incorporate

or stable it into their own DNA.  This DNA       be passed on to successive

generations.  Now the technology for synthesizing DNA--this is chemically

synthesizing DNA of known base sequences is rather far advanced now.  It is

quite difficult technically and would be a formidable job I think to synthesize

a piece of DNA corresponding to a small protein but I think it could be done.

I think it will be done almost surely within the next 10 years or something of

the sort.  DNA, for example corresponding to insulin on something of this

nature or perhaps to a sRNA.  Thus far the experiments that I have talked about

and just the work in molecular biology as a whole I think it has had very little

impact on mankind per ss, primarily becausethere simply is not enough information

known to be able to apply the knowledge.  Now knowledge can be used obviously

for good and it can be used for bad purposes as well, andLurea Salvadore Luria


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a very i&inent microbiologist, stated the responsibility of the scientist


very very elegantly and I'd like to read just a paragraph from Lurea's

'statement.  Lurea says "The impact of science on human affairs imposes


upon its practitioners an inescapable responsibility for the progress of

science is so rapid that it creates an imbalance between the power it places

in the hands of man and the social conditions in which this power is exerted.

Then neither the warnings of scientists nor breadth of public information,

nor wisdom of citizens may compensate for inadequacies of the institutional

framework with which to cope with the new situations. The scientist should

cultivate his own alertness to prospective developments that may suddenly add

new powers to man.  The scientific habits of ekepttcism and restraint, of


curbing fantacy and distrusting fancy;  inhibit the scientist's effort to


speculate on what the future may bring.  He must, however,  within the limited


means at his disposal prepare the public to cope with the foreseable consequences

of the advances he anticipates.  For example, ddring the 1930's the physicists

realized that nuclear bombardment via a chain reaction would have certain

consequences but they questioned the chances of harnessing it but they realized

that it was theoretically possible.  But when this power became a reality


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society was unprepared both intellectually and institutionally to deal with it."

Now that is really why I raise this question I think well in advance of the need

to do so.  Because I think nobody can say when because certainly if you were to

take a poll of a dozen different investigators you would get a dozen different

answers.  But of one thing I am convinced -- I am absolutely sure that sequences

of DNA will be made chemically, synthetically, and they will be used to program

cells.  First to program possibl 'f bacteria and when the techniques are worked

out they will be used I think to program mammalian cells.  Thus, man eventually

--I don't know when--but eventually, will be in a position perhaps to control his

own biologic evolution.  I think that technically it may be feasible to do this far,

far before it will be possible to know the consequences of doing this, obviously

& SO there will be an information lag and I bring this up to make one point and

this is that when it is possible to do this man should exercise enough restraint

so this does not really perform an uncontrolled experiment upon himself because

I think there would be much pressure, for example, to use such power to cure

genetic diseases and I think it would be very wrong to do so. I bring this up

because I don't know the answer$--all the answers-- but that this is comething

that we should perhaps think about and perhaps talk about during the next 8ar;)fasr
                        1\

or so.

Thank you