What is special or unique about Safety Culture for researchers working with biological agents or rDNA? All of the above attributes form the basis for safe research but just like any science specialty, there are unique issues that must be considered when working with these materials, including:

  • They can be alive and as such, can grow, replicate and sometimes, move.
  • Their effect on the researcher can be influenced by the health of the researcher.
  • They can spread through numerous mechanisms (droplet, aerosol, mucosal, oral, fecal, blood borne).
  • They can insert themselves into a genome and have long term effects.

The diagram on the next page illustrates some of the many factors that must be taken into account when planning to work with biologicals and/or rDNA; many of these issues will be discussed in this manual.

Figure 3. Factors to consider when working with biologicals and/or rDNA.

We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.). This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest…It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests
a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.

Watson and Crick (1953), Nature