Allowing gene patents could be an expensive mistake for the US

How the WTO Could Be Improved

AbstractThis paper examines the impasse in the current Doha Development Round negotiations andasks how the rules of the WTO could be changed to facilitate multilateral negotiations andto increase the welfare of the Member countries. It considers possible changes to the methodof negotiation. As examples of rules which are outdated, it considers the rules relating toregional trade agreements and ...

Practice Appointment Rates for High-risk Asthmatics: What could be the Predictor(s)?

Practice appointment rates could have a significant impact on national health care costs and services offered by doctors. In this respect a study was designed to determine the relationship between practice appointments and possible predictors in high-risk asthmatics. An observational retrospective analysis of the predictors for the practice appointments in asthmatic patients with at least one h...

The cost of scientific excellence – could it be expensive and out of reach?

There is a considerable effort to understand the complex relation between the amount of financial investments and the corresponding research outcomes and achieved outputs. More and more, researchers are asked to prepare a detailed budget plan, and justify the used financial resources. The funding agencies, professional organizations, investors, industries, and governments on the other hand are ...

Enclosing the genome: what squabbles over genetic patents could teach us.

available by the author under a Creative Commons License http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0 The final version is to be published in Advances in Genetics. Thanks to Lauren Dame, Bob Cook-Deegan and Alex Rosenberg for their comments and criticisms. Bob, in particular, should not be held responsible for the results. His comments helped me greatly by making clear out how alien it is ...

Could gene therapy be the future for muscular dystrophy?