2012硕士研究生英语二Text3

In 2010. a federal judge shook America's biotech industry to its core. Companies had won patents for isolated DNA for decades，---by 2005 some 20% of human genes were patented. But in March 2010 a judge ruled that genes were unpatentable. Executives were violently agitated. The Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO), a trade group, assured members that this was just a "preliminary step" in a longer battle.

在2010年，一位联邦法官彻底震惊了美国生物科技行业，各家公司早就获得了分离DNA的技术专利，到2005年，大约有20%的人类基因被授予专利。但是在2010年3月一个法官判定基因不能再被授予专利。高管们陷入强烈的不安（增词法）。生物技术行业组织，一个交易集团，向成员保证这仅仅只是长期战斗中的初步阶段。

重点单词：

patent:专利；    isolated :vt. 分离，adj. 偏远的，孤立的  ；decades : 数十年，几十年 。judge :n. 法官，裁判员，v.评价，判断 ；

       Executives: adj. 〔公司或机构〕行政的，管理的；供主管人员使用的；高档的；豪华的 n. 主管，经理；〔政府的〕行政部门；〔机构的〕领导层，执行委员会 。violently:adv. 激烈地, 猛烈地, 强烈地, 厉害地 。agitate :v. 搅动, 鼓动, 激怒, 使不安。Biotechnology：n.生物技术。

　　On July 29th they were relieved, at least temporarily. A federal appeals court overturned the prior decision, ruling that Myriad Genetics could indeed hold patents to two genes that help forecast a woman's risk of breast cancer. The chief executive of Myriad, a company in Utah, said the ruling was a blessing to firms and patients alike.

      在7月29号他们送了一口气，至少暂时送了一下。一个联邦上诉法院驳回了先前的判决，判定Myriad Genetics可以保有两项帮助预测女性乳腺癌风险的基因专利。位于犹他州的Myriad总裁认为这次判决对应相关的公司和患者来说都是福音。

　　But as companies continue their attempts at personalised medicine, the courts will remain rather busy. The Myriad case itself is probably not over. Critics make three main arguments against gene patents: a gene is a product of nature, so it may not be patented; gene patents suppress innovation rather than reward it; and patents' monopolies restrict access to genetic tests such as Myriad's. A growing number seem to agree. Last year a federal task-force urged reform for patents related to genetic tests. In October the Department of Justice filed a brief in the Myriad case, arguing that an isolated DNA molecule "is no less a product of nature... than are cotton fibres that have been separated from cotton seeds."

       但是随著生物技术公司继续他们在个性化医药方面的尝试，法院将会继续纠纷不断。Myriad的案件也许还没有完，批评人士主要有3个反对基因专利的观点：基因是一个自然产物，所以它不能被申请专利。基因专利是压制创新而不是奖励创新。像Myriad这样基因垄断公司会限制其他公司的基因测试。越来越多的人同意这个观点。去年一个联邦工作小组还敦促有关基因测试方面的专利改革。在10月份，司法部发表了一份关于Myriad案件的简要说明，认为分离出的DNA分子和从棉花籽中分离出棉花纤维一样，都是自然产物。

　　Despite the appeals court's decision, big questions remain unanswered. For example, it is unclear whether the sequencing of a whole genome violates the patents of individual genes within it. The case may yet reach the Supreme Court.

        虽然上诉法院已经决定，但是大的问题还是没有答案，例如：它并未明确整个基因组序列是否会违反它里面单个基因的专利。案件可能还是会上送到最高法院。

　　AS the industry advances, however, other suits may have an even greater impact. Companies are unlikely to file many more patents for human DNA molecules - most are already patented or in the public domain .firms are now studying how genes interact, looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug's efficacy. Companies are eager to win patents for 'connecting the dots', explains Hans Sauer, a lawyer for the BIO.

       然而随着行业的发展，其他诉讼案件可能会有更大的影响。公司不可能再获得更多人类DNA分子的专利，因为大部分已经获得了专利或者处于公共领域。这些公司正在研究基因之间是如何相互作用的。寻找也许可以用于确定引起疾病的原因或者预测药物的效力。BIO的律师Hans Sauer解释说：许多公司都渴望获得专利为了“基因之间的联系”。

　　Their success may be determined by a suit related to this issue, brought by the Mayo Clinic, which the Supreme Court will hear in its next term. The BIO recently held a convention which included sessions to coach lawyers on the shifting landscape for patents. Each meeting was packed.

      他们的成功也许由Mayo Clinic提出一项关于这项争议问题的诉讼来决定，最高法院将会在下一期审理此案。BIO近期举办了会议，其中包含培训律师如何应对正在转变的专利环境，每场会议都爆满。

附录：

1、雯声（二十二）| 没有天生的信心，只有不断培养的信心

2、增词法

3、no less A than B：A 与B是一样的，就相当于as A as B

4、每日一练