Recombinant DNA Technology (Biotechnology and Society)
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Required Reading
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- Paul Berg. Asilomar and Recombinant DNA (Nobel Foundation)
- ISBN:0309044863
Fredrickson, Donald S. "Asilomar and Recombinant DNA: The End of the Beginning" pp258-307 Read online at National Academies Press. Pages 259-264 are a brief history of molecular biology. You can skip over them if you wish and concentrate on pages 265-284. - Error fetching PMID 4342968:
Original paper reporting construction of first recombinant DNA molecule.
Discussion Questions
- What experiments prompted the Asilomar conference? What new technologies had been developed that made them possible?
- Who imposed the 6-month moratorium on recombinant DNA research? Why?
- What new dangers were possible with the use of recombinant DNA?
- Was the comparison of recombinant DNA to nuclear weapons appropriate at the time? Why? Why not? What about now?
- How was the reaction of the public and government different from that of scientists?
- What organizations or agencies oversee recombinant DNA research today?
- What are the lasting effects of the Asilomar model for examining the safety of new biotechnology?