Antonin Scalia Does Not Believe in Molecular Biology
Justice Antonin Scalia agrees with his fellow Supreme Court justices that naturally occurring genes can't be patented. Where he appears to differ: The existence of genes, the basic science of genetics, molecular biology, and evolution. He just dissented from all of the above.
Today, the court found in favor of the Association for Molecular Pathology in a case about the legality of patenting genes, ruling 9-0 that while synthetic genes may be patented, those extracted from the human body may not.
Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion, which was joined by Justices Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsberg, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor, and Kagan. But not Scalia. While he voted with the majority, he wrote his own concurrence to make abundantly clear that he did not agree with the parts of Thomas' opinion that recited the basic, sound, and undeniable fundamentals of molecular biology.
While he "joins the judgment of the court," Scalia wrote, he won't sign on to "Part I–A and some portions of the rest of the opinion going into fine details of molecular biology." Why? Because he can't "affirm those details on [his] own knowledge or even [his] own belief."
http://gawker.com/antonin-scalia-does-not-believe-in-molecular-biology-513125290
