Lawmakers to consider patenting genes, foreign threats to research

Keep your eye on two D.C. happenings today: First up, it’s day two of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings on intellectual property. One issue on the table is whether genes — such as patents on the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 that diagnostics company Myriad Genetics at one point had — can in fact be patented. The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that genes, being “products of nature,” can’t be patented, but the hearings will consider legislation that could loosen rules and reopen the issue.

Also today, the Senate Finance Committee is set to discuss foreign threats to taxpayer-funded research. The hearing comes amid increased scrutiny from agencies, including the NIH, to ensure that federally funded researchers in the U.S. don’t have foreign ties that could lead to intellectual property theft.