Almost immediately after the Supreme Court ruled that human genes could not be patented, several laboratories announced they, too, would begin offering genetic testing for breast cancer risk, making it likely that that test and others could become more affordable and more widely available. ... [More]

Today the Supreme Court issued a resounding no to the question of whether human genes can be patented.  In a unanimous decision the Court held that “a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated…the portion ... [More]

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries. The high court’s unanimous judgment reverses three decades of paten... [More]

Authors usually like it when the Supreme Court cites their work. But a reference to a book in an opinion last week is drawing mixed reviews. The case, Maryland v. King, was about whether the authorities may take DNA samples from people arrested in connection with serious crimes. Justice Anth... [More]

In May, the actress Angelina Jolie announced she had a preventive double mastectomy after learning she inherited a faulty copy of the BRCA1 gene, which put her at a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The genetic testing that gave her this information can only be conducted by one company, M... [More]

The US Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Maryland’s law allowing law enforcement to collect DNA upon arrest and prior to conviction fails to protect the privacy of Americans’ DNA and is a serious blow to human rights in the United States. In Maryland v King the Court has no... [More]

  The day that DNA cheek swabs officially became the new fingerprints deserves to be marked and remembered -- and not just because of the inevitable march of technology. No, the Supreme Court’s 5-4 holding today in Maryland v. King, that anyone arrested for a “serious crime&r... [More]

Routine DNA Testing After Arrest Upheld by Top U.S. Court States can routinely collect DNA samples from people who are arrested for a serious crime, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled, limiting privacy rights and giving police a powerful investigative tool for solving old crimes.   The... [More]

It was obvious from the questions they asked and analogies that they dreamt up that the nine US Supreme Court justices hearing one of the most important and complex patent cases in a decade were not wholly comfortable with the subject at hand.   The question before them – whether ... [More]

The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments and examined one of the most pivotal cases in healthcare and personalized medicine: AMP v. Myriad Genetics. The case will determine if patents on human genes should be allowed, and the Court is expected to issue a decision next month. This case i... [More]