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The answer to whether or not we are alone in the universe could be hidden inside every cell in our body.

Astrophysicists Vladimir I. Cherbak and Maxim A. Makukov are looking for an intelligent signal embedded in our genetic code that cannot be explained by Darwinian evolution. They call it "biological SETI."

On the Discovery website, Ray Villard quotes the researchers as saying, "Once fixed, the code might stay unchanged over cosmological timescales."
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In the future, doctors will be able to diagnose the diseases we’re likely to get, such as heart disease and diabetes, by looking at our DNA. That way, they’ll be able to give us concrete advice about our health habits. But what if they have to consult the company who has patented our genes first? You may not know it, but you don’t "own" your own genes–Through more than 40,000 patents on DNA molecules, companies have essentially claimed the entire human genome for profit.

When a research team examined two types of patented DNA sequences–long and short fragments–they discovered that 41% percent of the human genome is covered by DNA patents that often cover whole genes.
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If we could test every infant’s DNA at birth, we could predict what future diseases they might have and guard against them early–right? Wrong!

In the April 3rd edition of the New York Times, Gina Kolata quotes researcher Bert Vogelstein as saying, "The punch line is that this sort of personalized medicine will not in any way be the most important determinant of patient care."
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