6 | NewScientist | 6 November 2010

THE US Department of Justice sent a mixed message last week in a brief on whether genes should be patented. The answer is no for genes that are identical to those that occur in the human body, but yes if the genetic material has been altered to make it different from anything in nature.

The DOJ’s brief is relevant to a forthcoming case in the appeal court over whether US patents on two genes that raise a woman’s risk of breast cancer should be allowed to stand. It comes out in support of a ruling in March by a lower court that the patents, owned by biotech firm Myriad Genetics, should be revoked because they cover gene variants

identical to ones that can be found naturally in women.

Organisations hoping to ban gene patenting, such as the American Civil Liberties Union,

Whose genes? are delighted by the DOJ’s view. “The trend internationally is towards rejecting gene patents,” says Chris Hansen of ACLU.

But the US Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is dismayed by the position on isolated “natural” genes, even though the brief came out against the lower court’s ban on most other types of gene patent. “If adopted, the Department of Justice’s position would undermine US global leadership and investment in the life sciences,” BIO president Jim Greenwood says.

Malaria-freeEliminate malariaControl malaria

We should focus on eradicating malaria in countries at the boundary of its range, while controlling it in the heartlands

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Black magic owlsDIWALI, the Indian festival of light that starts this week, is a celebration of life – but it means death for thousands of owls.

Shamans use owl body parts, including the skull, feathers, ear tufts, blood and beak, in rituals such as those for attracting wealth, curing fever and passing exams.

While precise numbers of owls being traded for black magic are unknown, the conservation group TRAFFIC said in a report published on Tuesday that the practice is putting some species under threat.

As owls are associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, who is worshipped on Diwali, sacrifices rocket at this time of year.

All trade in wild birds is banned in India. However, a recent crackdown has paradoxically boosted trade in more lucrative birds, like owls. Buyers pay $67 for a barn owl and $900 for an eagle owl.

“Diwali should be a time for celebration, not one when our wildlife is plundered to feed ignorant superstition,” says Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister.

Squeeze malariaMALARIA could be eradicated globally, just like smallpox was in 1979, through a global pincer movement, squeezing it closer to the equator from north and south.

“It could take 50 or 60 years,” says Richard Feachem of the University of California, San Francisco, and author of “Shrinking the malaria map”, one of a series of papers on prospects for eradication published this week in The Lancet. At a press

–Bad for him, bad for everyone–

Tropical forest lose-loseCLEARING tropical forests for farmland is worse than we thought. It turns out to be the worst possible solution to the problem of feeding the world’s growing population without exacerbating climate change.

Paul West of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues estimated how much carbon would be released into the atmosphere by clearing land of wild plants in different parts of the world. They also worked out the potential yields of 175 different crops if they were planted in those areas (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1011078107).

“In the tropics, clearing a hectare of land releases twice as much carbon as in the temperate zones, and only produces half as much food,” says

West. “If we want to balance increasing food production and decreasing carbon emissions, we should emphasise increasing crop production on existing lands.”

Most current cropland expansion takes places in the tropics, and 80 per cent of new tropical croplands are created by deforestation.

“Continued expansion of croplands into tropical forests results in a lose-lose situation for growers and our climate system,” agrees Gregory Asner of Stanford University in California, who was not involved in the study.

However, he warns that boosting yields on existing lands can cause other problems, such as nitrogen pollution from fertiliser run-off. “We need to take such unintended consequences into consideration.”

“The court will rule whether US patents on two genes that raise a woman’s risk of breast cancer should stand”

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