City Council To Decide DNA Question Soon

The Cambridge City Council will hold its final debate tomorrow night to decide whether it should ban Harvard from conducting recombinant DNA research in its Biological Laboratories.

The experiments, which involve transferring DNA into specimens of E coli, a commonly used bacterium, are designed to produce a new species, whose characteristics will be unknown and possibly dangerous.

A heated meeting took place last Wednesday night as proponents and opponents of the plan argued their sides.

The opponents argued that there is possible danger in creating the unknown organism. However, scientists from Harvard stated that this would be unlikely, if not totally remote.

Despite these complaints, some Harvard professors, including Henry Rosovsky, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, cite possible advantages of the research including expansion of the world's food supply and some leads toward the curing of cancer.

Half-way through last week's four-hour debate, Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci proposed that there be a two-year halt within the city on such experiments.

He later withdrew his order and is currently calling for a three-month moratorium, to give the parties concerned more time to review the relevant testimony.