Intellectual property. Enhanced: intellectual property landscape of the human genome

The impact of gene patents on downstream research and innovation are unknown, in part because of a lack of empirical data on the extent and nature of gene patenting. In this Policy Forum, the authors show that 20% of human gene DNA sequences are patented and that some genes are patented as many as 20 times. Unsurprisingly, genes associated with health and disease are more patented than the genome at large. The intellectual property rights for some genes can become highly fragmented between many owners, which suggests that downstream innovators may face considerable costs to gain access to gene-oriented technologies.     

Crystal structure of the malaria vaccine candidate apical membrane antigen 1

Apical membrane antigen 1 from Plasmodium is a leading malaria vaccine candidate. The protein is essential for host-cell invasion, but its molecular function is unknown. The crystal structure of the three domains comprising the ectoplasmic region of the antigen from P. vivax, solved at 1.8 angstrom resolution, shows that domains I and II belong to the PAN motif, which defines a superfamily of protein folds implicated in receptor binding. We also mapped the epitope of an invasion-inhibitory monoclonal antibody specific for the P. falciparum ortholog and modeled this to the structure. The location of the epitope and current knowledge on structure-function correlations for PAN domains together suggest a receptor-binding role during invasion in which domain II plays a critical part. These results are likely to aid vaccine and drug design.