Remember Asilomar? Reexamining Science's Ethical and Social Responsibility

It is argued that Asilomar surely helped in many ways to launch the complex world of biotechnology the authors know today.

Abstract

Who remembers Asilomar? A generation ago, it was a familiar name for most molecular biologists and many other scientists, as well as science journalists, politicians, and members of the public concerned about the "biohazards" posed by the then-new field of recombinant DNA research. At the time, the term "Asilomar" was shorthand for a singular moment in the annals of science: a voluntary moratorium at the frontiers of science.