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2024-08-08 19:00
Marine bioprospecting – finding and exploiting material from marine life for commercial products – is growing fast. A new study compiling 33 years of bioprospecting patent applications shows that a few multinational companies hold the majority of patents that reference DNA from marine organisms. All top ten patent-holders have filed patents using genetic sequences from deep-sea organisms. The authors say their findings show the need for polices that steward deep-sea ecosystems, and regulate marine bioprospecting in international waters.
Journal/conference: Nature Sustainability
Link to research (DOI): 10.1038/s41893-024-01392-w
Organisation/s: Stockholm University, Sweden
Funder: FORMAS, project number 2020-01048; FORMAS, project number 2019-01220; the Research Platform Governance of Digital Practices at the University of Vienna; the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (2021.0343). Open access funding from Stockholm University.
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