In 1975, around 150 scientists gathered at California's Asilomar Conference Grounds to discuss recombinant DNA technology, the ability to cut genetic material from one organism and splice it into another. It promised enormous advances in medicine and biology. But the scientists feared that engineered organisms could create consequences they didn't yet understand.
At Asilomar, they agreed on safeguards, containment standards and restrictions under which research could continue. Those principles helped shape later NIH guidelines. Biotech didn't stop. But it became considerably safer for humanity.
