Patents On Genes: Round Two

dstates writes "An industry has grown up around patents guaranteeing exclusive access to testing of mutations in specific genes, but recently the Supreme Court rejected a biotechnology patent saying laws of nature cannot be patented, and threw the issue of patents on genes back to the lower courts. The Court of Appeals is now preparing to hear arguments on whether genes can be patented. The results will have major implications. On the one hand, restricting access to whole regions of the human genome will stifle scientific progress. On the other, companies like Myriad Genetics and Optimal Medicine use the patents to protect years of work invested in research, but this also means preventing other companies from offering diagnostics based on competing faster and lower cost technologies to analyze mutations in these genes."

There is a solution

[davidannis]

The solution is not to allow my genes to be patented but to have the government fund basic research on what genes do and let the private sector slug it out. Many companies can then produce tests that are cheaper, faster, and better. That way they would compete on price and quality, not on being first to gain a monopoly position. We have lots of public infrastructure, like roads, that companies like UPS and FedEx share. It keeps costs low. Imagine if UPS could get exclusive access to Interstate 80 while FedEx got I-75. Not an efficient system if your goal is serving society even it FedEx and UPS funded their individual highways.

Re:So just patent the test...

[__aagbwg300]

As I understand the case, the issue is whether genetic material is patentable at all. This is generally referred to as patentable utility or just utility for short. Questions of utility deal exclusivly with whether they fall under the statute. The questions are usually answered with a simple "yes, it is" (e.g. For an improved potato peeler) or "no," (e.g. F=ma) so no prior art would be necessary.

UNARIUS - TEH SCNCE OF MYNDE!

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

What if: The moon is a machine -- a lifeboat and "ark." [blogspot.com] It's hollow and "rings like a bell" when struck by space probes. It's the ideal space ship for transporting a large populations of dangerous outcasts (like humans) around the galaxy. It's huge, with mineral resources capable of sustained life-support and generating great power over long periods; and because of its uninteresting appearance, it's able to through galaxies without attracting attention from hostile forces. At 2,160 miles in diameter (6 x 6 x 6 in units of 10 miles),it's 108 times its own diameter from the earth -- as is the sun, an impossible ratio, which enables us to have statistically impossible total solar eclipses -- and that's what made astronomical confirmation of Einstein's theory of relativity possible. Also, despite a number of theories trying to explain its presence above us, the moon is not supposed to be there -- and yet it makes life possible on earth by providing the ocean tides necessary for plankton survival. The moon brought our ancestors to earth, and it will take our refugees somewhere else when the forces hunting us find us. Sounds like a plot for a great sci-fi novel -- or maybe it's the truth. :)

I do believe there's more than us. More than just other intelligent life. I believe our science AND religions are ALL part of a BIGGER EQUATION. You cannot have one without the other. The religion gives science a need to explore for answers. The science is needed to solidify/justify the religion. If you really do your "homework" and study up on some science and religions, you'll find that there is a coherency between them. Science is now answering some of Religions oldest, unanswered questions. There's a theory that "Heaven" may actually be a REAL place in our universe!!! Possibly some 541 light years away. Not sure about the legitimacy of that one (cool thought though), but I've seen how science is now able to prove what our oldest cultures knew and how some of our greatest technological mysteries can be answered. I think there's a WAY BIGGER picture that we are just now starting see through clues left behind by our ancestors. Look up HD/Torsion physics. It's a new science that's being more or less "hidden" or denied by mainstream science and media. In reality, it proves that Einstein had actually created/figured out THE UNIFIED FIELD THEORY back in the 50's!!!! Problem was that no one knew how to understand it or what it ment(or maybe they did) and thus it was labeled as "unfinished". HD/Torsion Physics answers those weird anomalies that current science can't explain. Theory stands that utilizing this science, you could create a field in which an object within that field would "weigh less" or more plainly, is dramatically less affected by the forces gravity. With this new perspective, the Egyptian Pyramids seem rather simplistic to build and could have been done by as little as one man. Theoretically, a child could have built them if he had the right tools. Sounds odd/crazy, yes I know. I said the same thing :) Then I did a little research after I had an interesting conversation with a few good friends. Well, that little research has turned into many years of answering questions, and at the same time finding more questions to be answered. All I know is that we are living in some exciting times and I am anxiously awaiting to see the results.

There can also be a possibility about an extinct prehistoric race, the hindu scriptures if studied carefully seems as if they are talking practical quantum physics, many great scientists referred to the vedas as the ultimate knowledge pool being avoided by mainstream scientists, books have been found named vimanashasthra which literelly translates in to the book of ships, vimana meant sir planes,, they have detailed description and even flight manuals in those books, propulsion systems, the clothes that a pilot should wear,, and yaa there are numerous accounts of space flights to moon and even an acco