IVF patent fallout

摘要

Can you patent an aspect of human biology? That is the question some researchers are asking in a row over an IVF patent awarded to Stanford University. The US patent was granted to Stanford University and Auxogyn, a fertility clinic in Menlo Park, California, and covers the timing of certain stages of early cell division in the embryo that predict future viability. Auxogyn is confident of being awarded a European patent, too.