The Supreme Court ruled on June 13, 2013, that Myriad Genetics could not patent human genes they isolated from the bloodstream, because the company "did not create anything," but that synthetic forms of the genes may be eligible for patents.
Speakers: John D. Negroponte, Samuel J. Palmisano, and Adam Segal Introductory Speaker: Anya Schmemann Presider: Jacob Weisberg
The CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet, finds that as more people and services become interconnected and dependent on the Internet, societies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Thomas Bollyky discusses the brewing fight over intellectual property and access to noncommunicable disease medicines in low- and middle-income countries and a potential way forward.
A new virus discovered in Saudi Arabia is raising deep concerns over its lethality. An intellectual property dispute could be impeding efforts to contain it, writes CFR's Laurie Garrett.
Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, commends the work of the World Health Assembly in closing remarks at the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly in Geneva Switzerland, May 27, 2013.
CFR Senior Fellow Thomas Bollyky argues that new strategies are needed to address the latest treatment-access crisis over patented medications, particularly as noncommunicable diseases continue to rapidly emerge in low- and middle-income countries.
Speakers: James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer Presider: Josh Wolfe
James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer discuss recent advances in the biotechnology industry, areas of potential growth and application, and their significance for U.S. competitiveness.
Laurie Garrett and Maxine Builder offer three recommendations for how the World Health Organization can adapt to an uncertain economic and political environment, without putting the world at risk of a disease outbreak.
Speakers: James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer Presider: Josh Wolfe
James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer discuss recent advances in the biotechnology industry, areas of potential growth and application, and their significance for U.S. competitiveness.
Speakers: James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer Presider: Josh Wolfe
James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer discuss recent advances in the biotechnology industry, areas of potential growth and application, and their significance for U.S. competitiveness.
In his testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Yanzhong Huang discusses China's recent public health crises. He focused on two areas: encouraging further government transparency and emboldening civil society to help enact policy changes.
Speakers: Michael Flowers and Kenneth Neil Cukier Presider: Gideon Rose
Kenneth Cukier, the Economist's data editor, and Michael Flowers, director of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's Financial Crime Task Force discuss "big data" and its impact on public policy and the world.
The Internet's growing role in economies and societies also poses new threats. The time has come for states and private partners to set global norms for web conduct, says expert Andrea Renda.
Peter Orszag argues that giving health-care providers a fixed payment for each Medicare beneficiary could provide a path forward between competing views of health care reform offered by Republicans and Democrats.
Laurie Garrett offers a detailed account of how the H7N9 virus emerged and describes the two possible paths it may now follow, by pulling from her own experiences in the SARS epidemic ten years ago and reflecting on parallels between the two.
Authors: Kenneth Neil Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger
Everyone knows that the Internet has changed how businesses operate, governments function, and people live. But a new, less visible technological trend is proving just as transformative: big data.
Speakers: Scott Pace and Robert Walker Presider: James Fallows
Scott Pace and Robert Walker discuss U.S. space program budget cuts, the indefinite cancellation of U.S.-government-sponsored human space exploration, and the rise of private sector activity in the area.
Speakers: Scott Pace and Robert Walker Presider: James Fallows
Scott Pace and Robert Walker discuss U.S. space program budget cuts, the indefinite cancellation of U.S.-government-sponsored human space exploration, and the rise of private sector activity in the area.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More