Why is it that just because a company identifies a gene and in this case two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers do they think they are entitled to a patent? This case could determine if you even own your own body because if this is allowed, in the future you may have to pay a licensing fee just to be alive! Of course that would never happen, would it? But if they control the cause of a disease then they would presumably control the cure. Could mean that a company could identify a gene related to an illness, patent that gene and then wait for someone else to find a cure and reap the financial rewards from someone else’s efforts?
Myriad Genetics, a Utah-based company, vowed Wednesday to “vigorously defend” itself against a legal challenge to its patents on two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers, its attorney told CNN.
A lawyer in the case says patenting genes would be like patenting an eyeball removed from someone.
A lawyer in the case says patenting genes would be like patenting an eyeball removed from someone.
“Myriad strongly believes its patents are valid and enforceable and will be upheld by the courts,” said Richard Marsh, the company’s general counsel. Continue Reading »
I strongly believe in the invention of nature and that the only reason we survive on this planet is solely based on what we have learned from the earth and the incredible collection of life here. This is an excellent example of a discovery that should make headlines but barely gets noticed. The key here is that no one believed that anything could have survived without oxygen. Surprise, they do live and have done so for 1.5 million years! There is a lot to be learned from the earth and we really do have an obligation to make sure we do not overlook anything, even microbes in a glacier.
A reservoir of briny liquid buried deep beneath an Antarctic glacier supports hardy microbes that have lived in isolation for millions of years, researchers report April 17 in the journal Science.
The discovery of life in a place where cold, darkness, and lack of oxygen would previously have led scientists to believe nothing could survive comes from a team led by researchers at Harvard University and Dartmouth College. Their work was funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA, and Harvard’s Microbial Sciences Initiative.
Despite their profound isolation, the microbes are remarkably similar to species found in modern marine environments, suggesting that the organisms now under the glacier are the remnants of a larger population that once occupied an open fjord or sea.
“It’s a bit like finding a forest that nobody has seen for 1.5 million years,” says Ann Pearson, Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “Intriguingly, the species living there are similar to contemporary organisms, and yet quite different — a result, no doubt, of having lived in such an inhospitable environment for so long.” Continue Reading »
Now if they could only make the box eatable too, maybe as a dessert? While I love good simple effective ideas like this, it will probably have limited acceptance as most people (like me) grab a slice and go at it without a plate. Of course I rarely have leftover pizza too. Good thinking at work here…
Great idea but I wonder what kind of by-product is left over from the process if any? But this is a good start in keeping in check the overwhelming amount of by-products created by modern civilization.
Old tires are hard to bury and dirty to burn, but a New Jersey company has a new solution: microwave them.
The Global Resource Corporation, of Mount Laurel, is expected to cut the ribbon on Monday on a factory outside Chicago that makes giant microwave chambers for converting tires into three kinds of fuel: oil that can serve as a feedstock at an oil refinery, or substitute directly for diesel fuel in some applications; gases that can be burned to make electricity; and a solid material that can be burned in coal plants. Continue Reading »
Viruses could power devices Engineered viruses to work as batteries! The research team used viruses to construct the negative electrode, or anode, of the battery. In the new work, the researchers engineered viruses for the positive electrode, or cathode. When the two are put together, the virus batteries should perform better than traditional lithium ion batteries and also be environmentally friendly.
New Cold Fusion Evidence Reignites Hot Debate New evidence presented by U.S. Navy researchers of high-energy neutrons in a now-standard cold fusion experimental setup—electrodes connected to a power source, immersed in a solution containing both palladium and “heavy water.” If confirmed, the result would add support to the idea that reactions like the nuclear fire that lights up the sun might somehow be tamed for the tabletop. But even cold fusion’s proponents admit that they have no clear explanation why their nuclear infernos are so weak as to be scarcely noticeable in a beaker. Come on guys lets get this working!
World’s Most Powerful Laser has the Energy of a Hydrogen Bomb At a cost of $3.5 billion and more than a decade of work, the 192 laser beams are billed as the most powerful in the world. The Energy Department is expected to announce that it has officially certified the National Ignition Facility, which would clear the way for a series of experiments which scientists hope will eventually will mimic the heat and pressure found at the center of the sun.
‘Star Wars’ Laser Kills Mosquitoes Physicists have created a laser weapon that targets mosquitoes. It is hoped that by finding an effective weapon against mosquitoes, the incidence of malaria could be reduced. Today, malaria kills about one million people every year around the world.
New gel is stronger than steel Muscle-flexing robots with superhuman strength could become a reality thanks to a new expanding material that is stronger than steel. Scientists have created a gel that acts like muscle when charged with electricity but is far more powerful. The “aerogel” is almost as light as air, as stretchy as rubber, and stiffer than steel by weight.
Now imagine these Siftables as a shared resource. You could pick up a bunch of blocks, request specific programing from a programming kiosk and have just about any computer controlled device in an instant. The possibilities are endless…
This could be a great breakthrough and a real solution to the “dirty” CFL’s (compact fluorescent light bulb). Even though each CFL has a minute amount of mercury it will more than likely find its way into landfills. People are too used to throwing away regular light bulbs to be bothered recycling CFL’s.
A lighting revolution is on the way that could end at the flick of a switch the battle between supporters of conventional bulbs and the eco-friendly variety.
These LED's are three times more efficient than CLF's
Cambridge University researchers have developed cheap, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs that produce brilliant light but use very little electricity. They will cost £2 and last up to 60 years.
Despite being smaller than a penny, they are 12 times more efficient than conventional tungsten bulbs and three times more efficient than the unpopular fluorescent low-energy versions. Continue Reading »
This is my favorite type of invention, observe nature, learn and then build something that imitates the process. Nature has been at it a lot longer than we have been on the planet and nature is a great teacher if you only slow down a little to watch and learn.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Inspired by the way beetle larvae wiggle to move across water, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a low-energy and low-maintenance system for moving small robots and boats in water.
The system, which uses electrical pulses in place of paddles, sails and motors, is designed for small boats and devices that monitor the water quality in reservoirs, oceans and other bodies of water. Such devices usually rely on propellers to move about. Continue Reading »
New Family Of Antibacterial Agents Uncovered - As bacteria resistant to commonly used antibiotics continue to increase in number, scientists keep searching for new sources of drugs. One potential new bactericide has now been found in the tiny freshwater animal Hydra. More of a discovery but could be a lifesaver.
A Breakthrough in Imaging: A New Way to See a Virus - Researchers at an I.B.M. laboratory have captured a three-dimensional image of a biological virus using, for the first time, a technique that has some similarity to magnetic resonance imaging, a tool routinely used by physicians to peer inside the human body.
36.5 Megawatt superconducting motor Successfully Tested at Full Power - American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced today at the Surface Navy Association’s 21st National Symposium the successful completion of full-power testing of the world’s first 36.5 megawatt (49,000 horsepower) high temperature superconductor (HTS) ship propulsion motor.
IOC to open India’s first hydrogen fuel pump - Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest oil marketing company by sales, will open the country’s first hydrogen fuel-dispensing station in New Delhi next month. The new-age pump will be set up in Dwarka.
Prototype device detects, disables digital cameras - Proving once again that “outdated technology” still has its place among today’s high-tech products, old-school film cameras may soon be the only shooters not rendered ineffective in the face of a new device that promises to identify and disable their digital counterparts in secure environments.
Scientists Hack Cellphone to Analyze Blood, Detect Disease, Help Developing Nations - A new MacGyver-esque cellphone hack could bring cheap, on-the-spot disease detection to even the most remote villages on the planet. Using only an LED, plastic light filter and some wires, scientists at UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute have modded a cellphone into a portable blood tester capable of monitoring HIV, malaria, leukemia and detecting diseases.
Mathematician Andrew Hicks was in his Drexel University office, puzzling over some problem he can no longer recall, when colleague Ron Perline walked in with a challenge.
Fresh from his morning bicycle ride from Germantown, Perline was unhappy with the rearview mirror mounted on his handlebars. Its tiny surface was curved, reflecting a wide-angle view of the road behind him, but the image was badly distorted.
Could math provide the path to better reflection? Perline asked.
Indeed it could. Eight years and numerous calculations later, Hicks is now testing a prototype mirror - for a car, not a bike - and he is in talks with a foreign manufacturer. As with the bike mirror, the rounded surface provides a wide field of view - so wide that it eliminates the dreaded, driver-side “blind spot” - yet the subtle mathematics of his design result in little or no distortion. Continue Reading »
