Biochemicals as Media, Not Methods

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In review, “Patent disputes could trip up genome wide scans for disease” Nature Medicine:

My stance is that biochemicals are media. Thus, the physical media —your DNA— are your physical property. The data encoded by the media —your DNA sequence— is your property under copyright. The DNA sequencing process and machinery may be patentable property. The meaning and interpretation of the data —your DNA test results— is like software or music. It can be copyrighted or licensed, but it should not be patented.

Analogy: DNA molecules as CDs

Imagine a CD. I speak “Hello, my name is Andrew Yates” into a microphone, I create an audio recording of my voice, and I burn that recording onto a CD.

I own the CD.

I own the copyright to the information encoded on that CD.

I cannot patent “Hello, my name is Andrew Yates.”

I cannot patent the meaning of “Hello, my name is Andrew Yates.”

I can patent CD readers. You may not be able to sell CD readers without a license from me.

However, my CD reader patent does not extend to whatever you record on your CDs —even if I claim to own all means of reading all CDs. Further, a patent is a right to exclude. You can read your CDs however you like until I officially tell you that you can’t.

Map: Your DNA sample is the CD. The sequence of your DNA is “Hello, my name is Andrew Yates” voice recording encoded in the CD. The CD reader is the DNA sequencer. The medical report from your DNA is your interpreted meaning of “Hello, my name is Andrew Yates.”

Reduce: Now, I never want to hear this “mirror” analogy ever again.

Vulture Capital: Navigenics

More from “Nature”:

Navigenics, which includes an indirect test of the patented Alzheimer’s gene APOE, has proposed a royalty-based model that reflects the relative contribution of the licensed gene or single nucleotide polymorphism to the overall value of the service. The company envisions stacking royalties such that they do not exceed 5% of their sales.

Translation: we should all agree to unintelligible license contracts so we can level up as portfolio license pokemon!

Uh oh, a wild startup appeared! Navigenics, I choose you! Navigenics used APOE. It was super effective! startup is confused. startup hit itself in the confusion! startup has fainted. Vulture Capitalist wins!

Athena Diagnostics, which has exclusive rights to the patent for APOE, says it has not come to any conclusions regarding such opportunities.

Translation: no.

Why are psychics ever surprised? | Bad Astronomy

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Every time a psychic gets surprised by something, the world gets a little smarter. I hope.

If that’s true, then our collective IQ went up a solid 8 points when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a suit against "America’s Prophet" Sean David Morton on claims he’s a big ol’ phony.

If only he had spelled it "profit" instead, then he wouldn’t have been falsely advertising. And given that he made a cool $6 million off of gullible dupes, that moniker would certainly fit better.

Now, of course this doesn’t mean all psychics are knowing frauds any more than a scientist who perpetrates knowing fraud indicts all other scientists.

However, science has given us spaceflight, agriculture, computers, medicine, telescopes, and a deeper and quantitative understanding of the Universe from the quantum level out to its observable edge.

Psychics have given us, well… y’know… um… oh! They make it easier for non-critical people to carry their now much-lighter wallets around.

Right. Well, to paraphrase Philip J. Fry: psychics 0, regular science a billion.

Tip o’ the crystal ball to Dale Martin.


For Almost 40 Years, We Missed This: Apollo Moon Rocks Contain Water | 80beats

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moonOver the last year, scientists have discovered that the moon isn’t a bone-dry place, as we previously imagined. Water ice has been spotted not just at the lunar south pole but also the north pole, and scientists have noted that the north pole deposits contain enough water ice to sustain a human lunar base. Now, scientists studying hundreds of pounds of moon rocks brought back by Apollo astronauts have found that samples containing the mineral apatite have minute traces of water.

The new analyses of the samples, revealed last week at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, show that the evidence of the moon’s water was right under scientists’ noses for almost 40 years–they just didn’t have sensitive enough instruments to detect it. The water levels detected in Apollo moon rocks and volcanic glasses are in the thousands of parts per million, at most—which explains why analyses of the samples in the late 1960s and early 1970s concluded that the moon was absolutely arid [National Geographic].

Three different research teams found traces of water in apatite samples. Using a technique called secondary ion mass spectrometry, which bombards a sample with ions and then weighs the ejected secondary ions in a mass spectrometer to determine their atomic masses and abundances [New Scientist], scientists found water in minuscule quantities in the apatite–up to 6,000 parts per million. The apatite examined by one team was taken from one of the moon’s mares–the dark regions that are believed to have been formed by ancient magma oceans. This is the first time that water has been found in lunar magmatic material.

One of the research teams also found that the ratio of hydrogen isotopes in the apatite’s water differed greatly from the isotope mix found in earthly water, leading scientists to question where the water on the moon came from. Researcher James Greenwood believes comets may have crashed into the infant moon before its magma ocean crystallised, supplying the water. Or it may have come from a Mars-sized planet, dubbed Theia, that slammed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago to make the moon [New Scientist]. Another possibility proposed by geoscientist Francis McCubbin is that when that collission happened, not quite all the water was driven off when chunks of Earth were flung spaceward to form the moon—in other words, the water may be from an ancient version Earth [National Geographic].

Related Content:
80beats: Tons of Water Ice at the Moon’s North Pole Could Sustain a Lunar Base
80beats: NASA: Bombing The Moon Provided Definite Evidence of Lunar Water
Bad Astronomy: NASA Finds Reservoir of Water Ice on the Moon!
80beats: Moon Plume Detected! NASA’s Lunar Crash Wasn’t a Flop, After All
80beats: So What Exactly Happened with that Crashing Moon Probe?
80beats: Lunar Impact! NASA Probe Slams into Moon to Search for Water

Image: NASA/ Lunar and Planetary Institute and G. Bacon (STScI)


The Cosmic Bat

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The Cosmic Bat in Orion. Click for a larger version. Image credit: ESO

From ESO:

The Cosmic Bat The delicate nebula NGC 1788, located in a dark and often neglected corner of the Orion constellation, is revealed in a new and finely nuanced image that ESO is releasing today. Although this ghostly cloud is rather isolated from Orion’s bright stars, the latter’s powerful winds and light have had a strong impact on the nebula, forging its shape and making it home to a multitude of infant suns.

As the caption says NGC 1788 is in the constellation or Orion. If you were to neglect the Great Orion Nebula, Orion is still a fabulous place to poke around with a telescope.

I’ve spent many hours cruising around. The number of double and triple star systems is pretty amazing. I will admit to never seeing this particular feature, it’s rather small and not actually “inside” the figure of Orion, besides the brightest star in nebula is a magnitude 10, not exactly dim for a telescope but it doesn’t stand out like a triple hot blue star system either.

I may try and find it though and it’s really pretty easy to find. Just go from Rigel not quite half way to the lowest star in the shield, and to the right of 28-Eta Orionis.  Yeah, that’s right, just above the Witchhead nebula (another reflection nebula).

Want a desktop of this? Head on over to the ESO site.

Don’t forget to participate in the GAN project (click the GAN banner to the right).

Testmasters Course for PE Electrical Power Exam?

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I have been studying for the PE for the last couple of months. I got an email from Testmasters for a review for the PE that guarantees passing. My work won't pay for the course, which is $1600 and I have to take (4) vacation days, and spend (4) weekend days taking the course. I also will have to

Solarhart Solar Water Heater

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Hi CR4 members,

I am planning to install a solar water heater (Solarhart) 180litre capacity to supply hot water in my 3 bedroom house with 2 bath tubs, 2 washhand basins and 1kitchen sink.And in my design I was thinking of installing a 1.5kw heating element with a timer to top up in cas