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Science and Technology Law Commons

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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Science and Technology Law

Introduction, Miriam F. Miquelon-Weismann Dec 2014

Introduction, Miriam F. Miquelon-Weismann

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Legal educators increasingly use the classroom to import expertise from scientists and social scientists to better prepare law students to engage in specialized and collaborative fields of practice. Indeed, this project grew out of a paper course on Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases offered during the spring 2006 semester at the law school. Students heard from accident reconstruction experts, DNA scientists, forensic pathologist and medical malpractice experts. In February 2006, Dr. Aaron Lazare, Dean and Chancellor at the University of Massachusetts, addressed the law school on a cutting-edge legal theory from his recently published book, “On Apology.” Stimulated …


E-Books, Collusion, And Antitrust Policy: Protecting A Dominant Firm At The Cost Of Innovation, Nicholas Timchalk Oct 2014

E-Books, Collusion, And Antitrust Policy: Protecting A Dominant Firm At The Cost Of Innovation, Nicholas Timchalk

Seattle University Law Review

Amazon’s main rival, Apple, went to great lengths and took major risks to enter the e-book market. Why did Apple simply choose not to compete on the merits of its product and brand equity (the iPad and iBookstore) as it does with its other products? Why did Apple decide not to continue to rely on its earlier success of situating its products differently in the market than other electronics and working hard to be different and cutting-edge with its e-book delivery? This Note argues that the combination of Amazon’s 90% market share, network externalities, and an innovative technology market creates …


Ironic Simplicity: Why Shaken Baby Syndrome Misdiagnoses Should Result In Automatic Reimbursement For The Wrongly Accused, Jay Simmons Oct 2014

Ironic Simplicity: Why Shaken Baby Syndrome Misdiagnoses Should Result In Automatic Reimbursement For The Wrongly Accused, Jay Simmons

Seattle University Law Review

Shaken baby syndrome (SBS)’s shortcomings include the debatable science behind SBS theory and diagnosis—the questioning of which has grown more vociferous—and the arguably biased, discriminatory treatment of the accused. Professor Deborah Tuerkheimer notes that the evolving SBS skepticism and contentious debate has resulted in "chaos" in many SBS adjudications and within the medical and biomechanical fields, with the same SBS proponents and opponents continually crusading for and clashing over their beliefs. The issues surrounding the medical and biomechanical components of SBS diagnoses have been repeatedly examined and discussed, and are not the focus of this Note. This Note recounts those …


Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent Aug 2014

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …


Anaerobic Digestion As A Renewable Energy Source And Waste Management Technology: What Must Be Done For This Technology To Realize Success In The United States?, Blake Anthony Klinkner Apr 2014

Anaerobic Digestion As A Renewable Energy Source And Waste Management Technology: What Must Be Done For This Technology To Realize Success In The United States?, Blake Anthony Klinkner

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Anaerobic digestion technology uses microorganisms to consume waste and produce methane gas, which serves as a source of clean renewable energy. Although anaerobic digestion is widely used for both purposes throughout the rest of the world, it is rarely applied in the United States. This Article explains the scientific processes of anaerobic digestion. It then discusses how anaerobic digestion has been used throughout history and among societies as a waste management technology and source of renewable energy. The Article continues by addressing the legal aspects of anaerobic digestion, examining the reasons why it is not widely used in the United …


Speaking Of Science: Introducing Notice And Comment Into The Legislative Process, Gregory Dolin Jan 2014

Speaking Of Science: Introducing Notice And Comment Into The Legislative Process, Gregory Dolin

All Faculty Scholarship

Congress enacts, on a nearly continuous basis, a variety of laws that affect scientific research and progress. Some of these laws have an unquestionably positive effect. For instance, Congress's creation of the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, and NASA; its various appropriations to fund ground-breaking research; and a multitude of other laws have incalculably advanced human knowledge, and it is to Congress's great credit that these laws have been and are continuing to be enacted. However, not all laws that affect the progress of sciences are an unalloyed good. Quite the opposite, often the laws aim …


Speaking Of Science: Introducing Notice And Comment Into The Legislative Process, Gregory Dolin Jan 2014

Speaking Of Science: Introducing Notice And Comment Into The Legislative Process, Gregory Dolin

Utah Law Review

Congress enacts, on a nearly continuous basis, a variety of laws that affect scientific research and progress. Some of these laws have an unquestionably positive effect. For instance, Congress’s creation of the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, and NASA; its various appropriations to fund ground-breaking research; and a multitude of other laws have incalculably advanced human knowledge, and it is to Congress’s great credit that these laws have been and are continuing to be enacted. However, not all laws that affect the progress of sciences are an unalloyed good. Quite the opposite, often the laws aim …


23andme, The Food And Drug Administration, And The Future Of Genetic Testing, Patricia Zettler, Jacob S. Sherkow, Henry Greely Jan 2014

23andme, The Food And Drug Administration, And The Future Of Genetic Testing, Patricia Zettler, Jacob S. Sherkow, Henry Greely

Other Publications

On November 22, 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) effectively halted health-related direct-to-consumer genetic testing in the United States by sending a warning letter to 23andMe, the leading company in the field, directing it to stop providing such testing. The FDA acted as the era of widespread, clinical use of DNA sequencing rapidly approaches. The agency’s action will contribute to changes in which genetic tests are offered to patients and how testing is provided.


The Natural Complexity Of Patent Eligibility, Jacob S. Sherkow Jan 2014

The Natural Complexity Of Patent Eligibility, Jacob S. Sherkow

Articles & Chapters

It has long been assumed that the doctrine of patent eligibility’s prohibition of patents on “laws of nature,” “natural phenomena,” and “products of nature” rests on legalistic interpretations of those terms. But there is good reason to doubt this assumption. Since the doctrine’s inception, the Supreme Court has yet to provide any framework, formula, or factors explaining these “natural” terms. Rather, the Court has increasingly fixated on a list of scientific tropes, such as gravity, the heat of the Sun, and extracted metals, that it believes are true examples of “natural laws,” “phenomena,” and “products.”

An actual examination of scientific …