Cross posted from Nature’s The Great Beyond blog.

In a much-anticipated decision, the US Supreme Court has struck down a patent that became ensnared in arguments over what should and should not be patentable. But the court’s decision seems to carefully sidestep that broader discussion – and the implications it could have held for gene patents.

All year, the biotechnology industry has been waiting with bated breath for a ruling in the case Bilski v Kappos*. Although the case dealt with the patentability of a method for trading commodities on the energy market, many felt the ruling would have implications for the practice of patenting processes, including gene testing.

Read the rest of the post on The Great Beyond.

* For more on the Bilski v Kappos case, read our news story from last year.