Naturally occurring human gene sequences cannot be patented but artificially copied and replicated DNA can be, the US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
“A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated but DNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring,” the US Supreme Court ruled.
The nine justices reviewed a 2012 appeals court decision that allowed a biotechnology company, Myriad Genetics Inc, to patent two genes it found had links to breast and ovarian cancer. A coalition of associations representing some 150,000 researchers, doctors and patients, asked the nation’s top court to overturn the decision, as it stopped them from doing further work and research with the patented genes.
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India sees thaw soon in Pak ties
Parul Chandra
New Delhi, June 13
Signalling an impending thaw in ties with Pakistan where a new government led by Mr Nawaz Sharif has recently taken over, India on Thursday said the structured dialogue process will be brought back on track.
New Delhi has already reached out to the new Pakistan government with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan Satinder K. Lambah calling on Mr Sharif last week.
How the structured dialogue will be phased and scheduled, however, is yet to be discussed.