Intellectual property ruling may have positive implications beyond current health care law uproar

On March 29, a federal judge invalidated patents on two genes linked to cancer. If upheld, the decision could reverse the rush to privatize products of nature that hold the potential to play a major part in revolutionizing medical therapy.

With nearly 20 percent of human genes already patented, the lust to place human physiology in private hands has already resulted in multi-billion dollar industries centered on pumping profits out of fundamental natural processes.

While a middle of the road modification to our for-profit health care system has garnered relentless press, the real battle to bri...