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OB OY oF VEN? MONSANTO'S GM SOYBEAN PATENT NIXED ARE MOBILE PHONES WIPING OUT OUR BEES? lhe European Patent Office today put the brakes on Monsanto's over-the-top corporate greed by revoking its species-wide patent on all genetically modified (GM) soybeans (EP0301749)—a patent unprecedented in its broad scope. ETC Group, an international civil society organisation based in Canada, won its 13-year legal challenge against Monsanto's species-wide soybean patent when an EPO appeal board ruled that the patent was not new or sufficient (i.e., the invention claimed was not sufficiently described for a skilled person to repeat it). The patent was vigorously and formally opposed by Monsanto itself until the company purchased the original patent assignee (Agracetus) in 1996. The technology related to the now-revoked patent has been used, along with other patents in the company's portfolio, to corner 90 per cent of the world's GM soybean market. "It's shameful that it took the European Patent office 13 years to kill Monsanto's immoral patent, which was ultimately revoked on technical grounds. Though we're relieved that the species-wide patent on all genetically modified soybeans— both seeds and plants—was not allowed to stand, the delay of more than a decade Seems are putting forward > a the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other high-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world: the abrupt disappearance of bees. In mid-April, some bee-keepers in Britain reported that the phenomenon—which started in the USA, then spread to continental Europe—was hitting them as well. The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the bees from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up. What is referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only the queen, eggs and a few immature workers. The vanished bees are never found. Parasites, wildlife and other bees, which normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives. The alarm was first sounded in the USA last autumn, and CCD has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast. CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left”. No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks. German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines. Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hive when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause. (Source: The Independent, UK, 15 April 2007, http://www.independent.co.uk) demonstrates just how broken the patent system is. The patent had barely a year to go before expiring!" said Hope Shand, who represented ETC Group in Munich. "It was particularly satisfying," said Shand, "that Monsanto's own blistering 1994 arguments against the patent were ultimately key in defeating it." One of Monsanto's top scientists testified in 1994 that the genetic engineering process described in the patent was insufficient to allow a skilled scientist to replicate the procedure—a necessary criterion for patentability. (Source: ETC Group news release, 3 May 2007, http://www.etcgroup.org) ERP ae (eer) emer ville 6 = NEXUS JUNE — JULY 2007 www.nexusmagazine.com