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Biotech

US Says Genes Should Not Be Patentable 127

Geoffrey.landis writes "A friend-of-the-court brief filed by the US Department of Justice says that genes should not be patentable. 'We acknowledge that this conclusion is contrary to the longstanding practice of the Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the practice of the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies that have in the past sought and obtained patents for isolated genomic DNA,' they wrote (PDF). The argument that genes in themselves (as opposed to, say, tests made from genetic information, or drugs that act on proteins made by genes) should be patentable is that 'genes isolated from the body are chemicals that are different from those found in the body' and therefore are eligible for patents. This argument is, of course, completely silly, and apparently the US government may now actually realize that."

Comment Cochlea implants aren't standard (Score 0) 226

and aren't recommended at all because the operation destroys the working part of the ear and you still have to learn reading on people's lips and learn a special sign language to help understanding the pronounciation, plus the regular sign language. I just hope the VGA implants will be upgradable (unlike cochlea implants) because seeing in 320*240 may not be much and may need real life adjustments.
Biotech

The Blind Shall See Again, But When? 226

An anonymous reader writes "Restoring hearing with cochlea implants that replace the inner ear with an electronic version has become standard procedure for many types of deafness. Now it looks like the same thing might happen for many types of blindness. With five national labs funded by the Department of Energy, this third-generation artificial retina promises to enable the blind to see again soon. Already it has been successful in over a dozen test patients, but at resolutions too low for doing much more than proving the concept. However, if the DoE can perfect this larger version of an artificial retina, then the company Second Sight promises to commercialize the implant, aiming for VGA resolution within the decade."

Comment Why not making the Chinese pay ? (Score 0, Flamebait) 173

I'm feeling the Chinese are the only ones that can benefit from the ipv6 and they would get the help of everyone for free ?! Economically it would be foolish to make the world switch to ipv6 for nothing. China is not fair to anyone they don't respect patents and counterfact items so I don't see why we should make them the ipv6 gift. Make them trade this ipv6, let every ISP in the world test it and then regroup and ask China to trade ipv6 for something. It doesn't have to be money : pollution reduction laws or human rights sound fair. Anything they can do fast and not just a promise would do. They're the ones who'll run out of addresses not us.

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