You Be the Judge
Should the discovery of the gene for a rare disease become public information available to all researchers? Or should the discoverer be allowed to profit from his/her hard work? Read the arguments below, then give us your opinion.
Argument #1
Genes shouldn’t be patented like an invention or
product, because they’re not. Archeologists don’t
patent a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.
Argument #2
Gene information should be available to the world for
humanitarian reasons. It’s the right thing to do.
Argument #3
Someone spends years researching and finally reaches
his/her goal: the discovery of a particular gene. He or she
should be able to profit from all that work, just like someone
profits from discovering gold or diamonds.
Argument #4
If there was no potential to profit from a gene
discovery, there would be little incentive to pursue it. Why
spend all that time and money for nothing but an article
published in a scientific journal?
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