biofutures: owning body parts & information

James Boyle ponders a future in which patent holders come to hold a monopoly on life:
http://www.thepublicdomain.org/2010/05/28/monopolists-of-the-genetic-code/#more-1267

Some of us is not actually us. Parts of our genome are made up of “fossil” DNA from deactivated retroviruses, providing a treasure trove of material for archaeologists of the genome:

http://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2010/04/paleovirology.html

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene patents, owned by Myriad Genetics, have been struck down by a judge in Federal court. The suit, brought by the ACLU and several other partners, argued that genes are “natural” and thus cannot be patented. Patenting, the argued, lead to a stifling of innovation. BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations have been associated with breast and ovarian cancer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/business/30gene.html

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot has been making the rounds in review recently. As in the court case of John Moore vs. Regents of University of California, the story of Henrietta Lacks, originator of the HeLa cell line, reveals an ongoing concern and fascination with the cultural implications of cell line ownership.

Boingboing review here: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/11/read-this-the-immort.html

New York Times review here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/books/review/Margonelli-t.html?em

Ruby, a cloned beagle, is the world’s first transgenic puppy, glowing red under ultraviolet light. Created at Seoul National University, Ruby contains cloned fibroblast cells produced by sea anemones.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/science/2009/april/Ruppy-the-Fluorescent-Puppy-Is-World-s-First-Transgenic-Dog.html

An article in the latest issue of Nature Biotechnology argues that there should be incentives to attract more subjects willing to disclose their genomic data to the public.

http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v27/n9/full/nbt0909-777.html

The NCI (National Cancer Institute) has developed a new test for classifying mutations in the human BRCA1 gene, using mouse stem cells.

http://www.genomeweb.com/dxpgx/nci-team-develops-mouse-stem-cell-assay-classifying-brca1-mutations

TruGenetics, a direct-to-consumer genomics company, is in financial trouble. Daniel Vorhaus and Lawrence Moore ask: what happens to clients’ genetic data if a personal genomics company declares bankruptcy?

http://scienceblogs.com/geneticfuture/2009/09/guest_post_daniel_vorhaus_and.php

A woman has had the wrong embryos implanted during an IVF procedure. As established in an earlier case, the child will be returned to the DNA parents. Of interest is the birth mother’s observation that, despite the terrible disappointment and upheaval this will cause, “we’re trying to look at it as a gift we’re giving someone else.”

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/22/wrong.embryo.family/index.html

The Human Genre Project is a collection of new writing in very short forms — short stories, flash fictions, reflections, poems — inspired by genes and genomics. The project was conceived by science fiction writer Ken MacLeod.

http://www.humangenreproject.com/index.php