By Anthony Zurcher

For weeks, researchers have been speculating about a string of bizarre readings from a star called KIC 8462852. Throughout a monitoring period of four years, the star’s light had fluctuated and dimmed in dramatic fashion. These odd signals baffled astronomers, and many had even suggested alien life as a possible explanation. However, recent observations are now leading to the theory that the irregular dips in light were in fact caused by comets. Nonetheless, as suggested by senior astronomer Seth Shostak, the unraveling of this mystery does not rule out intelligent life in other parts of the universe. The galaxy holds over a trillion planets, and scientists estimate one in ten may have a world capable of supporting life.

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December 03, 2015

By Matt Klinger

According to a recent New York Times article, scientists are busily at work attempting to resurrect the passenger pigeon from extinction.  More than a billion of the birds once populated the eastern United States, but the last one died in 1914.

Scientists are now sequencing passenger pigeon DNA and developing elaborate plans to recreate the bird's cells, introduce them into an existing type of pigeon, breed the offspring, and eventually train the resulting passenger pigeon-like birds to behave as their "ancestors" did.  With any luck, scientists believe a new population of passenger pigeons could be self-perpetuating by 2060.  

The prospect may seem far-fetched but at least one animal has already been brought back from extinction, even if only briefly.  The possibility of re-creating dead species has some envisioning Jurassic Park-like scenarios where woolly mammoths again roam Siberia.  But, as Stanford Law professors Jacob S. Sherkow and Hank Greely note, the issue raises a host of legal questions.  For instance, could de-extinct species be patented?  Would they be "endangered?" And what regulations, domestic and international, should be in place to govern the process? 

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March 07, 2014

By Min Wu

The European Patent Office (EPO) published a decision rejecting an attempt to patent human foreskin cells suitable for culturing stem cells, according to IP-Watch. The EPO said in its decision that inventions using human embryonic stem cell lines derived from the destruction of the human embryos are not patentable under the European Patent Convention.

In 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that no patents may be issued on stem cell research if human embryos have been destroyed in the process. Although the ruling is not binding on the EPO, the EPO observed that its decision is consistent with the ECJ ruling.

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February 12, 2014