|| page 10 the other press Fooling with MOTHE NATUR By Clifford A. *Velch Reprinted from Cel- lege Press Service by Canadian University Press. DENVER (CPS CUP)--The mov- ie ‘‘Andromeda. Strain’’ drama- tized a situation in which a foreign bacteria strain is discov- ered and toyed with by a group of scientists. It turns out that the gas emitted by the bacteria is very potent; if released to the environment it would quickly reproduce and destroy human- ity. It is handled very carefully in what is described as the safest, most protected, well- equipped, ultra-secret research laboratory in the world. And yet, the story makes clear, this genocidal andromeda bacteria is almost injected into the air waves by the lab’s fail-safe system, due to an understand- able combination of human er- ror and inappropriate knowled- ge. . At this time, in nearly 100 university, college, and indust- rial laboratories across the nat- ion, scientists and researchers less well-equipped than those in the Andromena fiction are con- ducting experiments which, it is widely agreed, run the risk of science fiction-type screw-ups. Genetic experimentation, in particular recombinant DNA OTTAWA (CPA CUP)--Canad- ians have almost grown accust- omed to foot-dragging and in- action by government and cor- porations in the face of possible environmental damage caused by various industries. Consequently, when govern- ment suddenly decides to ban a particular product because of possible hazards, and when the industry itself voluntarily com- plies, it suggests doomsday is at hand. Such is the case with the recent federal announcement that all non-essential uses of flourocarbons in spray cans will be banned by 1978, and that the aerosol industry itself has vol- untarily agreed to the ban. Flourocarbons--the. chemical studies, run the “‘risk’’--of a set ‘of possibilities as yet neither proven nor disproven--of dis- rupting out natural ecological systems, according to Larry Gordon, a researcher for the People’s Business Commission (PBC) which opposes recombi- nant DNA research. Recombinant DNA experi- mentation, which was not tech- nically feasible until 1973, is the monitored combining of DNA or gene chains (the biological blueprint that determines the hereditorary characteristics of all living things) from one organism with the DNA of another, dissimilar organism to form foreign genes. Recombi- nation has been done with the DNA of a cancer virus and that of a bacteria, for instance. The created strains of foreign or mutant DNA make bacteria with a variety of new properties-- from curing diabetes to causing cancer. It is the wide variety of mutant possibilities that has upset people and ignited a national controversy question- ing the necessity of recombinant DNA research. There is, most observers admit, the potential of an ‘‘Andromena Strain"’ in DNA research--what differentiates proponents from opponents is the degree of seriousness-with propellants that push the hair spray, deodorant, and hundreds of other products out of ‘spray cans--are said by some scient- ists to result in a breakdown of the ozone layer of the earth’s atmosphere. The ozone layer, which be- comes depleted as it comes in contact with rising flourocar- bons, is what filters out most of the cancer-causing ultraviolet rays of the sun. Ozone depletion would not only result in increa- sed skin cancer, especially in equatyri>l areas, but could also raise the temperature of the planet and harm plants and animals, according to some scientists. But all this is just conjecture at the moment. According to a which they take the risk potent- ial. So far there have been no problems with the DNA experi- ments but opponents, like Gor- don, speculate on the potential. Gordon points to the ‘‘shot- gun methods”’ used in recombi- nant DNA studies as one place where irreparable mistakes might occur. To create new DNA forms, some scientists blast together various species of bacteria like a shotgun shell fired into a small container. Inadvertently, something very harmful, not unlike the andro- meda strain, could be created, Gordon says. Because of this Dr.Liebe Ca- valieri, of the Sloane-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research says, ‘‘Only one-accident is needed to harm all of society.”” But what opponents are more concerned with, Gordon says, is the purposeful injection of these mutant colonies in our environ- ment. There is talk of creating new animals and plants which will circumvent our natural eco- logical system, he says. Gordon adds that scientists hope to develop a hearty plant which would produce nitrogen--a nec- essary ingredient which most plants must get from the ground. The mutant plant could vegetation could not survive. “‘But,’’ Gordon warns, ‘‘what if the plant had the proliferation characteristics of weeds--it might wipe out other plants, causing ecological disaster to the food chain.”’ A top official at the National Institute of Health, a govern- ment agency which gives out genetic research grants, did not deny the claim that risks are involved but he believes, with proper safeguards, the benefits of recombinant DNA experi- mentation outweigh the potent- ial problems. The official, who asked not to be named, explained that there were two main classes of advan- tages. The most easily taken is’ the reason which guides much of science: ‘‘To find out more about ourselves, DNA research is perhaps the most revealing method we have discovered.”’ There is little doubt on either side of the debate: the closer we get to understanding and being ahle tn maninulate gene chains. tise iuser we are to understand- ing life. It is a rich line of inguiry. Second, there are scientific products, like the nitrogen pro- ducing plants. Within DNA recombination lay a limitless potential of biological offspring. For instance, insulin, that magical but scarce component of every diabetics life, could be created in the laboratory. This is good news for diabetics as well as for pharmaceutical indust- | ries. which, according to Gor- don, have tried to place patents on the information collected in recombinant DNA research. The PBC, flanked by such groups as the Friends of the Earth and scientists like Nobel laureate Dr. George Wald of Harvard. would like to see a “full-scale moratorium”’ on re- combinant DNA research and experimentation until a national public debate is held to decide, in Gordon's words, ‘‘whether we have the right and the wisdom to fool with Mother Nature ** be grown in areas where known federal government report on the subject ‘our knowledge of the effects of this ultraviolet radiation on the entire ecosys- tem is extremely limited and it is precisely what we don’t know that causes great concern.”’ Now that’s a switch. The same government authorities and industrial profiteers who usually demand production of a sufficient number of dead bod- ies to demonstrate proof of hazards are suddenly concerned about what they allege is only a possible danger. Not only is the government’s concern unprecedented, but the aerosol industry, both in Canada and the U.S,.is co-operating and voluntarily phasing out spray cans. All of which suggests that maybe more is known about the ' mage done by flourocarbons “n is beiug released to the pubic. ... 1 you consider that, even if we stopped using spray cans right now, already-relea- sed flourocarbons will rise to the ozone layer for the next 15 years, it presents a pretty scary picture. MORE INDIAN TRIBES SET- -TING UP NATIVE COURTS SAN FRANCISCO (ENS CUP)-- The National American Indian Court Judges Association is training 200 natives judges to fill the increasing number of tribal courts being set up in the U.S: The number of native courts has increased 40 per cent over the last six years according to the Wall Street Journal. Cur- rently almost half of the 267 organized tribes in the conti- nental U.S. have their own courts. The courts are the result of the Indians’ desire to establish sovereignty over tribal lands. Native judges say their links with ancient tribal customs and traditions make them more qua- lified to judge other natives. “‘A white man’s court would- n’t give our people a fair | hearing,’ according to Korenzo Jojola, chief judge of the Isleta Peublo tribe. But in his court, ‘‘People can talk in their own language and understand everything.” Burger sales keep. MacDonalds fat NEW YORK (LNS CUP)--The MacDonald's corporation ex- pects to post record earnings and revenue for 1976. Edward H. Schmitt. the company’s pre- sident, stated that revenue for 1976 went up a healthy 24 per cent since 1975 and has passed the billion-dollar mark. Schmitt is optimistic about the future of the hamburger business, explaining that the room for expansion is virtually limitless. The company has shown it can market hambur- gers successfully in Europe, Canada and Japan, and with no saturation point in sight, Mac- Donald's expects to reap even bigger profits for years to come.