But are these genes unique to the fly, or do homologous genes determine the development of a human embryo?The answer to that question has had to wait for the invention of recombinant DNA technology which has made it possible to isolate, copy and amplify genes from a fly and to re-introduce them into a mouse, or vice versa.
And Mr Hansen conceded that much work in modern biotech concerns recombinant DNA, which involves cutting and pasting DNA from different sources to make synthetic sequences not found in nature, something that the plaintiffs agree should be covered by patent law.Whatever conclusion the court comes to, the judges seemed keen to avoid an overly broad ruling.
Most vaccines are still made in a cumbersome process involving weakened or inactivated viruses or bacteria, but researchers are making progress on "recombinant" vaccines, which involve genetic modification.
His body was just another piece of equipment to be maximised, with the help of growth hormones, blood transfusions and recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), a synthetic version of a hormone that boosts the number of red blood cells in circulation, which carry oxygen to the muscles.
Whatever the truth of that claim, one thing is clear: Fidel Castro's scientists have been churning out an impressive line of genetically engineered products, from fast-growing fish to recombinant vaccines and cancer therapeutics.Cuba has spent over 20 years and a reported $1 billion building up its biotech industry.
It is a young science: biologists first found ways of manipulating recombinant DNA in the early 1970s.
And the winners were: Bioscience: Herbert Boyer, co-founder and director of Genentech, and Stanley Cohen, professor of genetics and medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, for developing recombinant DNA technology.
Finally, it is recombinant, merging separate, existing innovations and innovators through networks and crowdsourcing.This will have one principal good consequence, and one bad.
The resulting molecule is called recombinant DNA.
