Shaky science of the gene patent ruling

The following is an edited excerpt. 

In a unanimous ruling yesterday, the Supreme Court held that patenting a gene violates Section 101 of the Patent Act.

Though Myriad Genetics had indeed made “new and useful” discoveries, these fell into a long-held exception that “laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable.” However, the court found cDNA (complementary DNA) to be patentable.

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The meaning of this ruling is complicated significantly by the court’s sketchy understanding of molecular biology.

Read the full story here: The Supreme Court’s Sketchy Science