Is patenting life ethical?

Is it wrong, immoral please state your opinions.

I mean claim something that you invented to get recognition for your work but why would you claim something that naturally grew on Earth?

EX http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mohan_Chakrabarty

"Prof. Chakrabarty discovered a method for genetic cross-linking that fixed all four plasmid genes in place and produced a new, stable, bacteria species (now called Burkholderia) capable of consuming oil one or two orders of magnitude faster than the previous four strains of oil-eating microbes."

He claimed a patent on a bacteria that he somehow train to eat oil........

I don't see why it's a problem, it's just bacteria....

[quoteba2186fb81="mnx12"]I don't see why it's a problem, it's just bacteria....[/quoteba2186fb81]

yes I said that first

but did you know that they already claim patent

on human genes and cells? and also animals that were geneticaly engineered
including platns!

I don't see the difference between patenting a plant that's been created and a wooden rocking chair. Both are made with natural materials, but neither would be in existence without human creation.

The only real potential problem that I see so far, is the precedents that these patents set. There will come a time when these will likely be used in a court case to argue patents for more complex organisms. If such cases are won, they may be used to argue for others that most today would really consider unethical.

Sure he can. He patented a METHOD of creating it.

[quote2763afcd23="KnightTrader"]Sure he can. He patented a METHOD of creating it.[/quote2763afcd23]

he did not patent the method..

he patented the life itself..

the microbe that was altered to eat oil, he patented microbe and claimed it as his

its like, experimenting with mouse to have disabilities such as baldness, then later he claims that all the mouse with disabilities cannot be explored because he had discovered it

hes basically saying, he just made a new life mouse with disability, this is like playing God

Yeah man. You know whats funny? Everytime someone discovers a new part of DNA within the Human Genome Project, its patented. EVERY LITTLE SECTION.

Medicine is also patented.

[quote6e2572887f="Tholek"]The only real potential problem that I see so far, is the precedents that these patents set. There will come a time when these will likely be used in a court case to argue patents for more complex organisms. If such cases are won, they may be used to argue for others that most today would really consider unethical.[/quote6e2572887f]

This argument could be used for just about any case. It's not a valid argument against it.

True, I don't see a real way of stopping it. It's more of an observation.

Things like this occur so incrementally that most can only see the parts they play in hindsight.