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Human Trials Underway In China For SARS Vaccine
da_foz writes "A SARS vaccine has begun human trials in Beijing. The vaccine was devoloped with the help of some open source software, a couple details about what was used can be found here. Here is an interesting quote from the second link: 'The Director of the Genome Sciences Centre, Dr. Marco Marra, said he personally requested that his name not be included on the patent application as the scientist who found the genetic sequence. "This stems largely from a personal belief that DNA sequence is a discovery as opposed to an invention and should not be patentable," he said.'"
The law of right triangles, the best of Mozart or Shakespeare, and the theory of gravity are all discoveries. Nobody creates an idea. All ideas, in all their forms, are discovered. It's just more obvious if it's an island, or DNA.
-I am an elective eunuch.
Because I work at a company that is currently sending our SARS treatment to china. Our treatment is not a vaccine but rather a monoclonal antibody which would be administered post infection; and was indeed started with the sequence posted on the internet by these guys.
More details of this vaccine would be nice though.
Liberty.
This is a CBC article about a Chinese vaccine for a disease that has killed relatively few people (statistically speaking).
Earlier today on CBC Radio One (Toronto 99.1) they were discussing the fact that it is illegal to import antiviral drugs into China for children with HIV. Even though there is not any Chinese manufacturer of such drugs.
Drug use must be rampant within the Chinese government beauracracy.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
The only way the director in question could make a difference is by being among the patent owners and working to make things freer, from within. It's like refusing to arm yourself in a rough neighbourhood because you "don't believe in violence".
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proud VDS user