DNA Technology: Asilomar Conference and ‘Moratorium’ on Use

Susan Wright, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Published online: September 2006

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005613

The 1975 Asilomar conference is seen a landmark in the history of genetic engineering, an event that served as an influential model for policy making at that time. Its role as a model for future policy making on DNA technologies has been broadly questioned, particularly since commercial and military interests have been seen as major influences on the field's development.

Keywords: Asilomar; Paul Berg; genetic engineering; biological weapons; human genetic modification

 References
    proceedings Berg P, Baltimore D, Boyer HW, et al. (1974) Potential biohazards of recombinant DNA molecules. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 71: 2593–2594.
    Berg P, Baltimore D, Brenner S, Roblin RO and Singer MF (1975) Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA molecules. Science 188: 991–994.
    Chargaff E (1975) Profitable wonders. The Sciences 15: 21–26.
    book Jonas H (1978) "Straddling the boundaries of theory and practice: recombinant DNA research as a case of action in the process of inquiry". In: Richards J (ed.) Recombinant DNA: Science, Ethics, and Politics, pp. 253–271. New York, NY: Academic Press.
    book Keller EF (2000) The Century of the Gene. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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 Further Reading
    book Asilomar (1975) "Audiotape of the International Conference on Recombinant DNA Molecules, Asilomar, 24 February". Recombinant DNA History Collection, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
    book Goodell R (1987) "The role of mass media in scientific controversy". In: Engelhardt T and Caplan A (eds.) Scientific Controversies. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
    book Gottweis H (1998) Governing Molecules: The Discursive Politics of Genetic Engineering in Europe and the United States. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    book Nelkin, D (1994) Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science and Technology. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.
    book Rogers M (1977) Biohazard. New York, NY: Knopf.
    book Schechter AN and Perlman RL (eds.) (2001) Symposium on science, ethics, and society: the 25th anniversary of the Asilomar Conference. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 44(2): 159–248.
    book Wade N (1977) The Ultimate Experiment: Man-made Evolution. New York, NY: Walker.
    Weiner C (1979) The recombinant DNA controversy: archival and oral history resources. Science, Technology, and Human Values (January): 17–19.

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Article Title: DNA Technology: Asilomar Conference and ‘Moratorium’ on Use
 
How to Cite close
Wright, Susan(Sep 2006) DNA Technology: Asilomar Conference and ‘Moratorium’ on Use. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005613]