RESEARCHERS RAISE ALARM ABOUT LOSS OF INDIVIDUAL
"GENOMIC LIBERTY" DUE TO GENE PATENTS THAT MAY IMPACT THE ERA OF
PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
Humans don't "own" their own genes, the cellular
chemicals that define who they are and what diseases they might be at risk for.
Through more than 40,000 patents on DNA molecules, companies have essentially
claimed the entire human genome for profit, report two researchers who analyzed
the patents on human DNA. Their study, published March 25 in the journal Genome
Medicine, raises an alarm about the loss of individual "genomic
liberty."