Ungulate trampling modifies soils and interlinked ecosystem functions across biomes. Until today, most research has focused on temperate ecosystems and mineral soils while trampling effects on cold and organic matter-rich tundra soils remain largely unknown. We aimed to develop a general model of trampling effects on soil structure, biota, microclimate and biogeochemical processes, with a particul

Many questions concerning the UPC’s jurisdiction during the transitional period for European Patents under Article 83 UPCA remain unsolved. Focusing on the “opt in” and “opt out” choices under Article 83 (3) & (4), this paper discusses the legal nature and prerequisites of these provisions, as well as the options and strategic choices that patent proprietors and applicants are facing. Consider

Moiré superlattices can be used to engineer strongly correlated electronic states in two-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures, as recently demonstrated in the correlated insulating and superconducting states observed in magic-angle twisted-bilayer graphene and ABC trilayer graphene/boron nitride moiré superlattices1–4. Transition metal dichalcogenide moiré heterostructures provide another mo

Publication Date: 2019 ISBN: 978 1 78811 618 3 Extent: 304 pp.Global Genes, Local ConcernsLegal, Ethical, and Scientific Challenges in International BiobankingEdited by Timo Minssen, Janne R Herrmann and Jens SchovsboWith interdisciplinary chapters written by lawyers, sociologists, doctors and biobank practitioners, Global Genes, Local Concerns identifies and discusses the most pressing issues in

Large sets of health data can enable innovation and quality measurement but can also create technical challenges and privacy risks. When entities such as health plans and health care providers handle personal health information, they are often subject to data privacy regulation. But amid a flood of new forms of health data, some third parties have figured out ways to avoid some data privacy laws,

A new European Union policy could increase the supply of legitimate pharmaceuticals in developing countries and thereby minimize the problem of counterfeit medicines, but many challenges remain. This paper describes the proposed European legislation and discusses its' potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Ultimately, we consider if the United States should consider similar po

On July 25th 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its decision in C-121/17 Teva v Gilead , and thereby delivered yet another judgement on the interpretation of crucial provisions in the Regulation No 469/2009 concerning supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for medicinal products (the SPC regulation). This time the CJEU attempted to clarify the meaning of article

Excessive pharmaceutical pricing represents one of the most contentious issues in legal and political discourse and has recently gained renewed attention by courts, competition authorities and political forces on both sides of the Atlantic. Balancing the public demand for affordable and accessible health-care with the need for sufficient incentives and a sustainable innovation system in the field

Using large-scale whole-genome sequencing, Dewan et al. identify pathogenic HTT repeat expansions in patients diagnosed with FTD/ALS neurodegenerative disorders. Autopsies confirm the TDP-43 pathology expected in FTD/ALS and show polyglutamine inclusions within the frontal cortices but no striatal degeneration. These data broaden the phenotype resulting from HTT repeat expansions.

Most university biobanks begin like other university research projects, i.e. with an idea conceived by an individual researcher in pursuit of his/her own research interests, publications, funding and career. Some biobanks, however, come to have scientific value that goes beyond the projects that were initially responsible for the collection of the samples and data they contain. Such value may deri

As the Broad Institute faces a formidable task in defending its revoked CRISPR patent claims in a pending appeal at the EPO, European academics Jakob Wested, Timo Minssen, and Esther van Zimmeren are wondering whether some of the issues might be referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal.

Follow-on pharmaceutical innovation occurring after the initial discovery of a drug active ingredient plays an important, but at times underappreciated, role in providing innovative solutions to compelling medical needs. Examples of follow-on innovation include new forms of a drug with improved safety-efficacy profiles, new formulations and dosages providing improved patient outcomes, and new meth

The revocation of Broad Institute’s patent EP2771468, marks the latest major development in a series of patent battles over the revolutionary and highly lucrative CRISPR- Cas 9 technology (and other gene editing technologies) in the US and Europe. While this is the first EPO decision in an opposition procedure concerning the Broad patent portfolio, the outcome may have implications for other relat

Abstract: Despite an avalanche of recent court decisions on the European system for supplementary protection certificates (SPCs), the issue of third party SPC applications - also known as “SPC squatting” – has never been sufficiently clarified. Considering the ambiguous stipulations in the SPC Regulations, as well as the practical and theoretical significance of this issue, the lack of judicial gu