Scientists express opposition to proposed changes to patent law

A week after two congressional hearings over proposed changes to U.S. patent law, a who's who of more than 80 scientists, including eight Nobel laureates, has warned that changing what can be patented threatens to produce "an unintended, detrimental effect on the conduct of basic scientific research." In a letter to the proposal's House and Senate sponsors yesterday, scientists say the proposed change — which could allow the patenting of genes, natural processes, and even laws of nature — "may hamstring basic science and slow discovery." They ask that the legislators hit pause while the National Academy of Sciences studies the proposal and provides advice about its likely consequences for scientific progress. Earlier this month, some 150 scientific and civil organizations, including the ACLU, also penned a letter expressing their opposition.