dna

Hooray!

"Reversing a longstanding policy, the federal government said on Friday that human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because they are part of nature. The new position could have a huge impact on medicine and on the biotechnology industry."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/business/30drug.html?_r=1&hp

This was a topic of conversation at SFN this year - does the extent to which the brain is shown to be a machine, that reacts to inputs in predictible and predetermined ways, effect the concept of "free will," or the responsibilty of someone for their own actions?  How should this play out in the criminal justice system, where imprisonment can serve many purposes, of which punishment is only one (punish, rehab, vengence, removal of threat, ...)?

Another example of evil uses of patents... who though patenting DNA was a good idea???

The challenges to the patents-in-suit raise questions of difficult legal dimensions concerning constitutional protections over the information that serves as our genetic identities and the need to adopt policies that promote scientific innovation and biomedical research. The widespread use of gene sequence information as the foundation for biomedical research means that resolution of these issues will have far-reaching implications, not only for gene-based health care and the health of millions of women facing the specter of breast cancer, but also for the future course of biomedical research. (.pdf)

Brittain does something good for people's rights for a change

"DNA profiles of almost a million innocent people are to be destroyed as part of a major overhaul of the police national database. They include people who have been arrested and never charged, and those taken to court but found not guilty."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/03/dna-profiles-destroyed