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Supreme Court rules human genes cannot be patented
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that genes and the information they encode are not eligible for patents.The case involved patents held by Utah-based company Myriad Genetics for two genes, BRCA1/2, used to test if a woman has a greater risk for developing ovarian or breast cancer.“Myriad did not create anything,” according to Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the court’s decision. “To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention.”