Dr. Venter is trying to patent a synthetic bacterium.
The famous geneticist Craig Venter, who has been working on the problem of life synthesis for many years, decided to patent the method and a set of key genes that can be used to produce synthetic microorganisms that can grow and reproduce on their own.
The merit of the doctor is that he conducted research and determined the minimum set of genes necessary for the reproduction of bacteria. It is this set Venter is trying to patent, which caused a flurry of criticism from colleagues. They say that the commercialization of genetics can lead to the privatization of living beings.
A group of scientists under the leadership of Dr. Venter has set the task to determine which genes are critical for the reproduction of the bacteria Mycoplasma genitalium. To do this, they took the bacterium and began to remove the genes one by one, keeping it alive. Of the 482 genes, 101 were able to be removed. Thus, the remaining genes (381) are recognized as the “minimum set of life”. Dr. Venter wants to patent a method for synthesizing living organisms based on this set. The doctor founded the Synthetic Genomics Corporation especially for commercial activities.
Scientists from the ETC Group public organization are ready to do anything to ensure that the doctor does not receive this patent . They believe that this patent will give rise to a copyright on life forms. There will be living beings on our planet that will be the intellectual property of a person or a corporation.
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Correctly programmed, these microorganisms, for example, can synthesize ethanol directly in a glass for a shot glass or hydrogen directly in a car's fuel tank. They can eliminate the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and cleanse the ocean of oil stains. Such bacteria are the solution to many of the key problems of mankind, and that is why we should not allow them to be owned by anyone.
“We don’t want to develop a long-term legal battle strategy to discard bad patents,” said a spokesman for the ETC Group. “These patents should be rejected even before they are published.”
via BBC
The merit of the doctor is that he conducted research and determined the minimum set of genes necessary for the reproduction of bacteria. It is this set Venter is trying to patent, which caused a flurry of criticism from colleagues. They say that the commercialization of genetics can lead to the privatization of living beings.
A group of scientists under the leadership of Dr. Venter has set the task to determine which genes are critical for the reproduction of the bacteria Mycoplasma genitalium. To do this, they took the bacterium and began to remove the genes one by one, keeping it alive. Of the 482 genes, 101 were able to be removed. Thus, the remaining genes (381) are recognized as the “minimum set of life”. Dr. Venter wants to patent a method for synthesizing living organisms based on this set. The doctor founded the Synthetic Genomics Corporation especially for commercial activities.
Scientists from the ETC Group public organization are ready to do anything to ensure that the doctor does not receive this patent . They believe that this patent will give rise to a copyright on life forms. There will be living beings on our planet that will be the intellectual property of a person or a corporation.
')
Correctly programmed, these microorganisms, for example, can synthesize ethanol directly in a glass for a shot glass or hydrogen directly in a car's fuel tank. They can eliminate the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and cleanse the ocean of oil stains. Such bacteria are the solution to many of the key problems of mankind, and that is why we should not allow them to be owned by anyone.
“We don’t want to develop a long-term legal battle strategy to discard bad patents,” said a spokesman for the ETC Group. “These patents should be rejected even before they are published.”
via BBC
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/10816/
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