It is a case at the intersection of science and finance, an evolving 21st century dispute that comes down to a simple question: Should the government allow patents for human genes?
The Supreme Court offered little other than confusion during oral arguments on Monday on nine patents held by a Utah biotech firm.
Myriad Genetics isolated two related types of biological material, BCRA-1 and BCRA-2, linked to increased hereditary risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
At issue is whether "products of nature" can be treated the same as "human-made" inventions, and held as the exclusive intellectual property of individuals and companies.
On one side, scientists and companies argue patents encourage medical innovation and investment that saves lives.
On the other, patient rights groups and civil libertarians counter the patent holders are "holding hostage" the diagnostic care and access of information available to high-risk patients.
Outside the court, several protesters held signs, such as "Your corporate greed is killing my friends" and "My genes are not property."
The justices asked tough questions, raising a number of colorful hypotheticals to explore the boundaries of patent law, including whether things like baseball bats, leaves from exotic Amazon River plants, and the human liver could get federal government protection.
"The patent law is filled with uneasy compromises, because on the one hand, we do want people to invent," said Justice Stephen Breyer. "On the other hand, we're very worried about them tying up some kind of whatever it is, particularly a thing that itself could be used for further advance."
Justice Anthony Kennedy noted Myriad made a significant investment in time and money in its genetic "discoveries" and might be allowed to have two-decade control over the genes for research, diagnostics, and treatment. "I just don't think we can decide the case on the ground: oh, don't worry about investment, it'll come" if there was no patent protection.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor used a "chocolate chip" cookie analogy to say merely isolating naturally derived products would normally not get you a patent, only for the particular process or use of the cookie.
"If I combust those in some new way, I can get a patent on that," she said. "But I can't imagine getting a patent simply on the basic items of salt, flour and eggs, simply because I've created a new use or a new product from those ingredients."
The patent system was created more than two centuries ago with a dual purpose. One is to offer temporary financial incentives for those at the ground floor of innovative products like the combustible engine and the X-ray machine. The second is to ensure one company does not hold a lifetime monopoly that might discourage competition and consumer affordability.
All patent submissions rely on a complex reading of applicable laws, distinguishing between abstract ideas and principles, and more tangible scientific discoveries and principles.
2013年4月16日 星期二
2013年3月31日 星期日
Tidal energy projects slowly taking hold across nation
From the East River walkway near his office on Roosevelt Island, Ron Smith looks across to Manhattan's East Side shoreline, to the hulking warehouses and exhaust stacks of an oil-and-gas power plant, today's way of keeping the city's lights burning.
But in the swift-flowing tidal waters in between, Smith sees the future of energy generation. He and partner Trey Taylor are co-founders of Verdant Power, which generated electricity from underwater turbines in the river as part of a pilot project last year and will install 30 new turbines at the site this spring.
"The 1 megawatt these will generate is trivial," he said. "But by 2020 to 2040, these kinds of technologies will be all over the world."
Verdant Power is among companies worldwide in the forefront of exploring the potential for generating power from the tides, a form of renewable energy with some distinct advantages over wind or solar energy, but also with some unique challenges. In one reflection of the growing interest, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission noted last year that it had issued 100 preliminary permits for various tidal sites in the United States. Just this month, FERC announced an agreement with the Coast Guard to cooperate on navigation and other issues arising from tidal, wave and river current energy projects.
By some estimates, these technologies could one day supply as much as 30 percent of U.S. power needs, but there are a lot of uncertainties about how much of that potential actually can be realized, said Paul Jacobson, senior project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute.
"It's going to be a niche technology," he said. "But in the places where the conditions are good, it can be very attractive."
Alaska, Maine and Washington state have the U.S. sites with the greatest potential, followed by other coastal states including New York and Massachusetts, according to a 2011 Georgia Tech-U.S. Department of Energy report. Because tides move at regular cycles, tidal generators provide a predictable source of power, a distinct advantage over the fluctuating winds and cloudy days that can disrupt wind or solar arrays, Jacobson said.
"When the power is predictable, it's easier to plan to bring other things on line when needed," he said. One of the main challenges of tidal power, though, is the harsh, corrosive sea environment.
"There is a lot of power in these tidal currents, but some of the devices deployed have promptly broken because of the amount of energy," Jacobson said.
Other major challenges are the long lead time and the significant investment required to get projects beyond the conceptual stage. Verdant Power, for one, has raised $35 million thus far, but needs another $25 million for its Roosevelt Island project, Smith said. "There are high initial capital costs, and not a lot of initial return," he said.
Tidal turbine development has made progress in recent years, though, with companies such as Siemens producing tidal turbines, and working projects generating power in the Irish Sea and the Netherlands.
In the United States, the Ocean Renewable Power Co. achieved a major milestone in September when it began delivering power from a turbine in Cobscook Bay, between Eastport and Lubec, Maine, to Bangor Hydro Electric. It was the first time in U.S. history that power from a tidal generator has fed the commercial grid. Over the next five years, the company plans to install enough turbines to generate a total of 5 megawatts of power.
To some, the company's turbines resemble an old-fashioned push lawn mower. Sauer, however, prefers to describe the turbine as a "water wheel that's been twisted." Other designs look more like airplane propellers or wind turbines, except shorter. It's too soon to tell which design will dominate, Sauer said, and it may be that different designs will be better suited to different site conditions.
But in the swift-flowing tidal waters in between, Smith sees the future of energy generation. He and partner Trey Taylor are co-founders of Verdant Power, which generated electricity from underwater turbines in the river as part of a pilot project last year and will install 30 new turbines at the site this spring.
"The 1 megawatt these will generate is trivial," he said. "But by 2020 to 2040, these kinds of technologies will be all over the world."
Verdant Power is among companies worldwide in the forefront of exploring the potential for generating power from the tides, a form of renewable energy with some distinct advantages over wind or solar energy, but also with some unique challenges. In one reflection of the growing interest, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission noted last year that it had issued 100 preliminary permits for various tidal sites in the United States. Just this month, FERC announced an agreement with the Coast Guard to cooperate on navigation and other issues arising from tidal, wave and river current energy projects.
By some estimates, these technologies could one day supply as much as 30 percent of U.S. power needs, but there are a lot of uncertainties about how much of that potential actually can be realized, said Paul Jacobson, senior project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute.
"It's going to be a niche technology," he said. "But in the places where the conditions are good, it can be very attractive."
Alaska, Maine and Washington state have the U.S. sites with the greatest potential, followed by other coastal states including New York and Massachusetts, according to a 2011 Georgia Tech-U.S. Department of Energy report. Because tides move at regular cycles, tidal generators provide a predictable source of power, a distinct advantage over the fluctuating winds and cloudy days that can disrupt wind or solar arrays, Jacobson said.
"When the power is predictable, it's easier to plan to bring other things on line when needed," he said. One of the main challenges of tidal power, though, is the harsh, corrosive sea environment.
"There is a lot of power in these tidal currents, but some of the devices deployed have promptly broken because of the amount of energy," Jacobson said.
Other major challenges are the long lead time and the significant investment required to get projects beyond the conceptual stage. Verdant Power, for one, has raised $35 million thus far, but needs another $25 million for its Roosevelt Island project, Smith said. "There are high initial capital costs, and not a lot of initial return," he said.
Tidal turbine development has made progress in recent years, though, with companies such as Siemens producing tidal turbines, and working projects generating power in the Irish Sea and the Netherlands.
In the United States, the Ocean Renewable Power Co. achieved a major milestone in September when it began delivering power from a turbine in Cobscook Bay, between Eastport and Lubec, Maine, to Bangor Hydro Electric. It was the first time in U.S. history that power from a tidal generator has fed the commercial grid. Over the next five years, the company plans to install enough turbines to generate a total of 5 megawatts of power.
To some, the company's turbines resemble an old-fashioned push lawn mower. Sauer, however, prefers to describe the turbine as a "water wheel that's been twisted." Other designs look more like airplane propellers or wind turbines, except shorter. It's too soon to tell which design will dominate, Sauer said, and it may be that different designs will be better suited to different site conditions.
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