Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Biotech

Submission + - Judge Invalidates Human Gene Patent (nytimes.com)

Submitted by gollum123
gollum123 writes: A federal judge on Monday struck down patents on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The decision, if upheld, could throw into doubt the patents covering thousands of human genes and reshape the law of intellectual property. United States District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet issued the 152-page decision, which invalidated seven patents related to the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, whose mutations have been associated with cancer. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York joined with individual patients and medical organizations to challenge the patents last May: they argued that genes, products of nature, fall outside of the realm of things that can be patented. The patents, they argued, stifle research and innovation and limit testing options. Judge Sweet, ruled that the patents were “improperly granted” because they involved a “law of nature.” He said that many critics of gene patents considered the idea that isolating a gene made it patentable “a ‘lawyer’s trick’ that circumvents the prohibition on the direct patenting of the DNA in our bodies but which, in practice, reaches the same result.” The case could have far-reaching implications. About 20 percent of human genes have been patented, and multibillion-dollar industries have been built atop the intellectual property rights that the patents grant.

Submission + - Two Harvard Professors Blow the Whistle on ACTA (aim.org)

Submitted by MoeDumb
MoeDumb writes: ...Two Harvard professors take to the pages of The Washington Post to blast President Obama for failure to live up to his pledges of transparency, and for acting in an unprecedented and unconstitutional manner. And no, this time it's not about his handling of and signature on the unconstitutional health care legislation passed this week in Congress. They reserve their harshest criticism for lack of precedent, transparency, and apparently constitutionality. Among their points:

The leaked draft of ACTA belies the U.S. trade representative's assertions that the agreement would not alter U.S. intellectual property law.

It raises the stakes on the constitutionally dubious method by which the administration proposes to make the agreement binding on the United States.

The leaked draft, though incomplete in many respects, makes clear that negotiators are considering ideas and principles not reflected in U.S. law.
Censorship

Submission + - Federal government censors critics online (armsandthelaw.com)

Submitted by Foldarn
Foldarn writes: Per Say Uncle, it looks like the Department of Justice has mandated that a particular website be censored. The website in question is CleanUp ATF and is, for now at least, inaccessible through any government networks. What is 'Clean Up ATF' guilty of? It seems they're overly critical of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, a division of the Treasury Department. Among the claims of CUATF are allegations of corruption, incompetence, and they apparently they don't sport a very good track record, indicating 400 complaints with only 5000 employees. However, you aren't allowed to know that if you work for the government.
Media

Submission + - From Cyborgs to Hacktivists: Postfeminist Disobedi (makeahistory.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Postfeminism is that indicator that shows us the organism formerly known as feminism has grown into something far more complex than its liberal origins would lead us to expect. Cyberfeminism was born at a particular moment in time, 1992, simultaneously at three different points on the globe. Postfeminisms do not inhabit a network; they are the network of feminist discourse in virtual space and they are at their best when they are helping to forge communities of practice
Government

Submission + - James Bond loses his laptop (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by superapecommando
superapecommando writes: GCHQ lost 35 laptops in one year, potentially containing highly sensitive data.
The UK’s electronic spy centre was today lambasted by MPs for having a “cavalier” attitude to data security. The centre is responsible for tracking the electronic communications of terrorists.
In a new report, the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee expressed concern that GCHQ appeared to be entirely unaware whether or not the computers, lost in 2008, contained top secret information on people posing an imminent security threat to the country.
Censorship

Submission + - China Warns Google: Obey or Leave (google.com) 3

Submitted by suraj.sun
suraj.sun writes: China's top Internet regulator insisted Friday that Google must obey its laws or "pay the consequences," giving no sign of a possible compromise in their dispute over censorship and hacking.

"If you want to do something that disobeys Chinese law and regulations, you are unfriendly, you are irresponsible and you will have to pay the consequences," Li Yizhong, the minister of Industry and Information Technology, said on the sidelines of China's annual legislature.

"Whether they leave or not is up to them," Li said. "But if they leave, China's Internet market is still going to develop."

Li insisted the government needs to censor Internet content to protect the rights of the country and its people. "If there is information that harms stability or the people, of course we will have to block it," he said.

AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gKrY51vO2V86xiICf35Q05J0FIEAD9ED1NF80

Submission + - Scubaboard sued over post content

Submitted by Beardo the Bearded
Beardo the Bearded writes: In early 2008, several SCUBA divers were injured (one killed) due to contaminated air provided by a dive boat. Old news is exciting, but legal gears grind slowly.

The operator of the dive shop has filed suit against the owner of the board in an attempt to discourage discussion about the bad air, the fatality, and the conditions of the dive operation. Part of the issue is that the operator closed ship and moved to another company in January of 2010. The posters on scubaboard found that it was the same person and started warning divers against using the new company altogether.

Is it possible or reasonable to hold public forums accountable for the posts of its users?

Submission + - I found the problem with run-a-way toyotas

Submitted by wallyh
wallyh writes: Seems to be a problem in the cruise control module. Here's the code: DateTime randomTime = Random(time); if (randomTime currentTime && carDriver == "ugly american") { speed = 160; while (true) { if (carDriver.presses(break)) { speed += 5; } } }

Submission + - FBI: Suspect wanted to cyber-bomb insruance co. (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: Threatening e-mails, false public statements and spam were all part of a California man's cyber-extortion plan against the New York Life insurance company, according to the FBI. The FBI said it arrested Anthony Digati of Chino, California on March 6, 2010, on charges of attempting to extort approximately $200,000 — which would go to $3 million if the firm didn't comply in time — from a New York-based insurance company which was later identified as New York Life. Digati allegedly threatened to make false public statements and blast computer spam in an effort to damage the reputation of the company and cost it millions of dollars in revenue.
Security

Submission + - HTC Google Phones Preinstalled with Malware (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: Security researchers have found that Vodafone, one of the world's larger wireless providers, is distributing some HTC phones with malware pre-installed on them. The phone, the HTC Magic, runs the Google Android mobile operating system, and is one of the more popular handsets right now. A researcher at Panda Software received one of the handsets recently, and upon attaching it to her PC, found that the phone was pre-loaded with the Mariposa bot client. Mariposa has been in the news of late thanks to some arrests connected to the operation of the botnet.
News

Submission + - Officer Helps Save Driver in Runaway Prius (foxnews.com)

Submitted by suraj.sun
suraj.sun writes: A Prius driver calls 911 after accelerating to pass another vehicle on a California freeway and finding that he could not control his car.

A California highway police officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck on a freeway near San Diego, authorities said.

Prius driver James Sikes said that the incident Monday occurred just two weeks after he had taken the vehicle in to an El Cajon dealership for repairs after receiving a recall notice, but he was turned away.

"I gave them my recall notice and they handed it back and said I'm not on the recall list," Sikes said.

Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/03/08/stuck-accelerator-reportedly-causes-toyota-speed-control-highway/
Microsoft

Submission + - The secret origin of Windows (technologizer.com)

Submitted by harrymcc
harrymcc writes: Windows has been so dominant for so long that it's easy to forget that Windows 1.0 was vaporware, mocked both outside and inside of Microsoft--and that its immediate successors were considered stopgaps until OS/2 was everywhere. Tandy Trower, the product manager who finally got Windows 1.0 out the door a quarter century ago has written a memoir of the experience. (He thought being assigned the much-maligned project was Microsoft's fiendish way of trying to get rid of him.) The story involves such still-signifcant figures as Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie, and Nathan Myhrvold; Trower left Microsoft only in November of 2009 after 28 years with the company.

Submission + - Supreme Court to Rule on Anti-Gay Protests (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by introspekt.i
introspekt.i writes: The Washington Post reports that the Supreme Court of the United States is taking on the case of Snyder v. Phelps. This will decide whether or not the anti-gay protests by Westboro Baptist Church (Phelps's church) is protected by the first amendment of the constitution. For those on all sides of the debate, most can probably agree that the methods employed by this set of people are completely unpalatable. Would it be going to far to rule the protests as something other than free speech? Where is the line drawn between freedom of expression and harassment?

Slashdot Top Deals

A failure will not appear until a unit has passed final inspection.

Close