Linda and her Mom
Borrego Springs, about 2005
A long time
ago I wrote a blog about the question of whether or not a gene can be subject
to patent.
On the face of it the concept is absurd; maybe
one could patent a method to isolate the gene or to somehow mess with it, but
the gene itself is found in billions of cells in every human being on earth. No way can you patent that.
Well, it
appears that the issue has evolved significantly since then. In 2013 the Supreme Court ruled that genes
are not subject to patent. Now it seems
that a bipartisan group of congress persons want to reverse that ruling. From my viewpoint, this a big mistake, in
that it inevitably would increase the cost of gene sequencing aimed at dealing
with cancer. In fact, the question arose
initially with regard to the well-known BRCA genes.
The rational
for reversing the SCUS ruling is not laid out in the link given below. I wish it were; I would like to
understand the reasoning behind such a prima
facia bit of nonsense.
But, anyway,
we don’t need to worry – nothing is going to happen in Washington any time
soon.
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