Paul Berg, Cahill Professor of Biochemistry, emeritus, at Stanford University, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980 for his pioneering work in recombinant DNA technology. In the early 1970s, he created the first hybrid molecule of DNA containing genes from two different organisms. That process now forms the backbone of genetics and the biotech industry. Berg also led a remarkable effort among scientists in the 1970s to voluntarily halt certain experiments in recombinant DNA until he and his colleagues could agree on guidelines that would minimize the risks of releasing bioengineered organisms into the environment.
You’re 78. Why are you still so active?
B: There are things that really trigger a strong sense of injustice in me, and frankly, the bills pending in Congress to ban cloning for stem cell research were one; the one provision that really got to me was the provision that says no person in this country can have access to the stem cell therapy that was developed using the cloning technique. I couldn’t imagine how a bunch of guys sitting in Congress could sit there and say, “We’re offended by this technology, so therefore we’re going to prohibit 290 million people in this country from having access to a therapy that could save their lives.”
Why do you think Californians strongly supported their stem cell initiative?
B: I suspect there is widespread agreement that the president’s policy in restricting research on embryonic stem cells to lines that existed before 2001 is ill advised and that California should support a program that is forward looking, just as it has over many years in environmental and social programs. There must also have been a realization that advances in the biomedical field would be a boon for the state’s economy.
