The Cadre, Sept. 9,1,19,75, page" 4

Time Bomb (can’t .

have gone ahead in the ap- plication of genetics to the management of insect pests, offering benefits to agri- cultural and public health care. Their colleagues at Sussex University in Britain have developed new strains of nitrogn producing bac— teria that could cut down on the need for fertilizer.

Industry is attracted by the prospects of new pro- cesses for the synthetic production of drugs, such as insulin.

Yet if some of the fast - producing deadly organisms were to escape from the la— boratory in the course of experiments they could pro— duce plagues that would make the Black Death of Medieval Europe.look trite, for there would be little hope for control.

And dangerous materials

and 1 yet, another

When 1

WWW? €33 ._ mag) -

from

HENDERSON-

have been known to escape from laboratories. Only re-

‘cently, smallpox escaped

from Porton Down, Britain's

top security laboratory con— cerned with micro — biologi- cal research.

Although the problems are comparable to those associ— ated-with nuclear fallout, in that it effects every—

one, John Kendrew, deputy director of the British Med- ical Research Laboratory of Molecular Biology, thinks

it's worse.

". . . in my opinion our present problem is even more difficult. For early nucle- ar research was contained within a govermental milita— ry framework while gene

,transfer can be done by any

competent in any lab at any place. And for some of the work to be carried out be—

:hind a cloak of military or’

commercial secrecy would be doubly dangerous. "

Scientific progress has always been erratic. It seems it has been impossi- ble for us to protect our- selves from the changes. The different deve10pements are uncontrolled —- there is no master plan guiding the research. It is as if sci— ence has been waging gueril— la Warfare against society - - small teams of men, each working on its own biologi— cal bomb.

Now many scientists would like to see the esta— blishment, through the forth - coming conference on genetic engineering, early next year, of an authorita- tive international body to advise specialists on as- pects of research in the field that should be a— voided.

CUDMORE L“

Henderson

moral

‘Perhaps scientists have finally Stopped regarding their subject as a curio- sity and started it as the most potent force of our world. With some luck we may even be7better prepared for the coming of the " bio— logical age " than we were for the " nuclear age."- t

Gail Mitchell

Senate . C routes

Council On

University 'Lifo

During the afternoon

of freshman and sophomore registration, well attended meeting Of senate held in the faculty lounge.

there was a

The motion of major

importance was the introdu- ction and establishment of

a council on university ' life. This council is to provide a more expedient method of handling problems occuring in university life- hence bypassing the Student Union,orSenate. '

The reason for the de-

velopment of this council

is the conflict between Student Services and Stude—‘ nt Vflfiioni

The council is to be

construCted from a group containing 3 faculty members, 3 resident_and 3 day stude — nts. -

Some problems feared are

possible red tape of a new large body; co-ordination of problems between S.U. andS.S. andpossible amendments by the S.U. and 5.8. to prov— ide actions for settlement of problems arising in Unive- rsity Life '

' With this new large

.body it seems much red tape

and many questions on it's, - feasibility will arise.Your own opinions on this topic_

’7 A?“ , V would ggllingly be publisped. Svflfl 3W b” ‘ , a .- . m l\ ':;J"Why notfisend us yours? ~ saga ' ‘ g .aeioson wag o? asenaari age §_‘ - ‘ .. ‘-

' ' «3". 2‘ NAIL“- from 'xtnhtu'r gas», .135 ‘A‘-“',21 .1

aziw gafesovss busxasw ed!

- _ 4 .eon erom .ms.

rum