Taking a Stand on Gene Patents

This editorial from the LA Times updates readers on the ACLU v. Myriad gene patent lawsuit, for which arguments are scheduled to begin next week. "At stake is whether any human gene or test based on it can be covered by a patent," the editorial says, going on to support the ACLU side of the debate. "It amounts to a judgment call about whether it's right to give a company control over access to essential pieces of information about the body's natural programming, and whether it makes sense to trust that company to share the information freely with researchers and license it widely to competitors. On both of those questions, we think the answer is no."