breast

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a fact that is hard to escape. It's one of those things that I have mixed feelings about, particularly now that I've had a close relative, namely my mother-in-law, die of breast cancer less than two years ago. On the one hand, the attention that's brought to the cause of breast cancer is helpful for spurring research and donations to support research, as well as promoting screening programs. On the other hand, I do now have a bit of understanding about "pink washing," and some of the whole "pink thing" at times makes me uneasy. Be that as it may, one…
Students and laypeople alike often view biotech patents with baffled disbelief. How is it possible to patent bacteria? Mice? Cell types and DNA sequences? How can someone else "own" gene sequences that all of us have carried inside our bodies since birth? Honestly, as a biologist, the concept of patenting a gene doesn't really throw me for a loop. Think about it: although we all have genes, we can't read them unless we use a variety of lab techniques, many of them patented. In turn, reading the sequence isn't any use unless we know why we care - that this gene is relevant and can be used to…