A body formed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1970 to secure the services of eminent members of appointed professions for the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to NAS in 1863 by its charter to be an advisor to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to study problems of medical care, research, and education. lOM administers the National Research Council (NRC) jointly with the NAS. Prior to its formation, significant work had been done in the medical field by NAS: During World War II, the NRC’s Division on Medical Sciences sponsored a research program in many areas of military medicine, including synthesis of penicillin, aviation medicine, work in sanitary engineering, production of drugs and essential supplies, and providing new techniques and therapies for battlefield medicine. The Committee on Food and Nutrition, formed in 1941, published its first “Recommended Dietary Allowances”. In 1956 the report of the Committee on Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation was published. In 1969, the NRC drug efficacy study, prepared for the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was issued.