I n 1993 the National Research Council’s Board on Biology established a series of forums on biotechnology. The purpose of the discussions is to foster open communication among scientists, administrators, policy-makers, and others engaged in biotechnology research, develop- ment, and commercialization. The neutral setting offered by the National Research Council is intended to promote mutual understanding among government, industry, and academe and to help develop imaginative ap- proaches to problem-solving. The objective, however, is to illuminate issues, not to resolve them. Unlike study committees of the National Research Council, forums cannot provide advice or recommendations to any government agency or other organization. Similarly, summaries of forums do not.
