OneAndOneIs2

How *does* America manage to get science legislation so very wrong?

How long will it take before they stop basing their laws on the whims of the religious hysterics and the short-term interest of already-rich businessmen, and start thinking rationally about what should and shouldn't be allowed on its own merits?

human genes can be patented

The logic is that, because they're patenting the specific DNA instead of the mixture of DNA, histones et al that you find in a living organism, they've created something new and non-obvious.

This is, frankly, on a par with saying "I've removed a leaf from a tree. So now I can patent leaves and anyone who wants to do ANYTHING with leaves has to give me money. It's patentable because it's just an isolated PART of a tree."

There IS, I agree, some justification behind the ability to patent genetic structures - if you create a new one, for starters, or a heavily-modified version of a natural gene. And I agree that it's nice for a company to be able to gaurantee its investment in gene research by owning the patent afterwards.

But it's a moronic thing to allow.

Because genes are fundamental parts of an organism. If somebody patents a gene that you have in your own body, it is not possible for you to remove that gene, or replace it, or choose not to accept the consequences of having it. You cannot design around a patent on a human gene.

The example in the linked story is that a company called Myriad has patented some genes linked with breast cancer. They can therefore market a test for the presence of those genes. And nobody else can, because Myriad owns the patent. And they don't license it out.

And the big problem is, nobody can do anything ELSE with those genes, because Myriad owns the patent. So if you invented, say, gene therapy that targets those genes and inactivates them so you're less susceptible to breast cancer, you can't sell that. Because Myriad owns the patent on those genes. You can't even figure out who should be GIVEN that therapy, without paying Myriad's monopoly-based pricing.

Alternatively, consider how rare it is for only one gene to be relevant to a condition. Thinks like being predisposed to cancer, diabetes, asthma, etc - there are literally hundreds of potential red flags. What if each one were owned by a different company? How would you even begin to unravel this legal mess?

If a company creates a new gene, I have no problem with them patenting it. But if they find a gene that's in an existing organism, then they haven't created it: There's prior art in every individual that has that gene.

And no corporation should be able to point at a human, or any part of one, and claim ownership: America outlawed slavery with the 13th Amendment in 1865. They're busily allowing corporations to reinstate it through the back door. And whereas a slave had the chance of running away from their owner, there's no getting away from your own DNA.