Up to this point, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued patents for over 1,800 genes, and although most of them are plant genes, there has been an explosion in the number of patent applications for human genes over the past two years. The ethical uncertainties and implications are both clear and disturbing. Another less obvious point concerning the HGP needs to be raised. As a result of the interplay between science and industry, the actual conduct of the scientific enterprise has changed. Ever since the existence of France s seventeenth-century Republic of Letters, science has been predicated on the unrestricted access to information.
Secrecy is anathema to scientific knowledge.
Company secrets ensure financial advantage over pesky competitors. Unfortunately, science is succumbing to the whims of industrial practices. Two examples will suffice to illustrate this regrettable situation. As director of TIGR, Venter is required under contract with Steinberg to show his results only to HGS for the first six months. This period of exclusion allows HGS to obtain an insurmountable lead over competing companies.