They said it couldn't be done. That was back in August 1976, when Harvard's proposal to build a special containment laboratory for recombinant DNA research sparked intense protest from the Cambridge City Council, among others. An acrimonious debate followed on the safety of such gene-splicing research and the propriety of building the lab within the rundown, insect-infested Biological Laboratories.
But three years later, the laboratory is planning to open within a few days now that the Cambridge Biohazards Committee has approved its safety precautions. Harvard is very patient.
It is possible, however, that the new $600,000 lab will contain more safety precautions than required under the newest revision of the federal government's regulations governing recombinant DNA research. Although the national regulations have been relaxed, Cambridge's ordinance mandating slightly stricter guidelines remains the same. One scientist has predicted the discrepancy between the national and the local guidelines could lead to another Harvard-Cambridge confrontation.
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