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A landmark US court ruling against gene patents has reignited debate on the issue in Australia just weeks before the expected release of a senate report.
Responses to the ruling reveal major splits within the Australian scientific and legal communities.
At the end of last month the New York district court ruled that biotechnology company, Myriad Genetics, did not have the right to patent breast cancer genes as they were "products of nature".
Several decades ago patent offices ruled that genes could be patented. Since than, a number of genetic sequences have been laid claim to - even so-called "junk DNA".
"[The US court ruling] totally throws the cat amongst the pigeons," says Professor Dianne Nicol, a legal expert in intellectual property and genetics from the University of Tasmania.
Australia is yet to make a ruling on the issue, with everyone holding their breath for the expected June release of the report from the Senate Inquiry into Gene Patents.
Meanwhile, responses to the US ruling reveals the scientific community is divided on whether genes should be patented, and how the...