Owning the code of life : human gene patents in America
Name
939625925-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
3.1 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
794612e746620198379d6b72ab93fdfe
Author(s)
Schwartz, Sarah L. (Sarah Leah)
Advisor(s)
Thomas Levenson.
Alternative Title
Human gene patents in America
Date Issued
2015
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
In 2013, the United States Supreme Court heard the case of Association of Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics. The case asked one question: are human genes patentable? Gene patents became commonplace during the biotechnology revolution of the 1980s, but generated a complex web of moral, legal, and biological questions. While some viewed gene patents as necessary in promoting and sustaining innovation, others felt that owning the code of life was morally and legally misguided. This tension played a central role in the early years of the Human Genome Project, and continued as people experienced the challenging consequences of assigning property rights to our shared biology. Several patients with genetic diseases were forced to navigate limited or expensive testing because of a company's genetic monopoly. Some scientists worried that their research might infringe a patent. When the Supreme Court decided the Myriad trial, ruling that unaltered human genes were not patent-eligible, their decision marked a surprising and historic shift in the relationship between patent law and fundamental biology-but questions and uncertainty about a future without gene patents remain.
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 49-54).
Subjects
Comparative Media Studies.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing
Terms of Use
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