4 ms·

> They have also developed a way of ensuring the kangaroo xenografts are not rejected after transplant. The key to this is what he describes as “the special sau

• jaggederest 3y ago
  I love it when people do this "patented secret" thing. Patents are public for very good reason - society protects ideas that are documented publicly so that the public knowledge is improved after the patent expires.
  • twic 3y ago
    Although there are secret patents: https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/the-thousands-of-secret-patents-that-the-u-s-government-refuses-to-make-public.html https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/the-thousands-of-secret...
    • taneq 3y ago
      Like most (all?) governments the U.S. government has a strict set of rules that it must follow unless it decides it doesn't want to.
      • deaddodo 3y ago
        Well sure. Because if the US govt's patent on hypersonic rocket propulsion (as a conjectural example) were public knowledge, it would be trivially simple for their rivals to use that information in their own programs or countermeasures. Surely it's evident that most nations would find an imperative in keeping that knowledge guarded? The govt doesn't have to patent these techniques at all. They do so for the benefit of public enterprises (so contractors and military industry can benefit) and so that the knowledge does eventually enter the public commercial sphere. That article itself mentions multiple patents that eventually had the veil lifted and/or expired.
        • Dylan16807 3y ago
          How do contractors benefit from the patent? They can "eventually" release the information whether or not they had a secret patent.
          • red-iron-pine 3y ago
            they "benefit" by agreeing to play ball getting the (often absurdly huge) defense contract. and since the contractors are taking federal money, the gub'mnt reserves the rights to any of their findings; agree or don't get the contract. but this then gives the Gov another angle if the contractor deliberately or accidently releases or sells those secrets -- not just distributing classified materials, but also patent violations, and potential lawsuits. it's a tool to ensure compliance if/when the government is funding stuff they don't want released
          • deaddodo 3y ago
            It allows Boeing, for instance, to patent their version of hypersonic propulsion (again, a conjecture, not a real example) without worrying about the information becoming public knowledge; which a non-protected patent would require. Government or agency patents are a matter of course and provide attribution and protection to their authors (similar to public patents). There are plenty of technologies the US govt researched and implemented that they did not patent and instead released directly to the public domain. Many of those related to Arpanet and baseband cellular technologies are key examples. So your point is moot. They do both, it's discretionary to their strategic interests, in much the same way commercial entities will sometimes patent their research but make it freely licenseable.
      • sparrowInHand 3y ago
        And who watches the watchmakers?
• arijun 3y ago
  Ah, yes, ahem, I definitely understood exactly what that patent is saying, but perhaps you could summarize it for all the other people who can’t parse a patent immediately?
  • jaggederest 3y ago
    It basically confirms the theory discussed in this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36785816 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36785816 In layman's terms, they're using achilles or tail tendon from certain kangaroo species that have been carefully dissected to retain only non-immune-reactive tissue (or decellularized), and sticking it in people's knees and other ligament sites in the body because it's strong.
  • deaddodo 3y ago
    Which part is difficult to understand? They use medical and scientific terminology, but otherwise it's pretty straightforward. It essentially covers the usage of macropod (kangaroo, specifically, of an enumerated variety) tendon and ligaments in a grafting procedure using "undisclosed" materials for compatibility. It then enumerates specific elasticity parameters before giving a description of the problem (background). Basically, exactly what the topic article summarizes into layman.
• ckemere 3y ago
  Ironically, the whole patent appears to be about the concept (how is that patentable?!). The actual treatment is “known in the art “. Quote: “The tendon is composed mostly of an extra-cellular collagen matrix, which is non-immunogenic. The tendon may therefore require no denaturing (decellularisation) prior to implantation into a mammal. In some embodiments, the tendon may be subjected to a decellularisation process prior to implantation. In removing the cells from the tendon, the immunogenic antibodies within the cells are also removed, thus rendering the tendon non- immunogenic. Methods of decellularisation of tendon tissue are known in the art. Such methods include…”
• aidenn0 3y ago
  Furthermore the patent states that "Methods of decellularisation of tendon tissue are known in the art." which means he either lied in the patent, or it's not "special sauce"
  • DebtDeflation 3y ago
    I mean, it starts out by saying that the special sauce usually isn't even needed.
• AYBABTME 3y ago
  Seems like the special sauce is nothing at all but what seems to be well known prior art: [0038] In preparing the xenograft for use, the tendon is surgically dissected and removed from the paratenon (tendon sheath). The tendon is composed mostly of an extra-cellular collagen matrix, which is non- immunogenic. The tendon may therefore require no denaturing (decellularisation) prior to implantation into a mammal. In some embodiments, the tendon may be subjected to a decellularisation process prior to implantation. In removing the cells from the tendon, the immunogenic antibodies within the cells are also removed, thus rendering the tendon non- immunogenic. Methods of decellularisation of tendon tissue are known in the art. Such methods include physical, chemical and enzymatic treatments, wherein the cells within the tendon are lysed, leaving an undamaged extracellular matrix having the same physical and biochemical properties as the natural tissue.
  • koheripbal 3y ago
    This was tried with pig tendons about 20 years ago. I wonder what has changed.
    • tourmalinetaco 3y ago
      From a cursory glance, the animal.
      • AYBABTME 3y ago
        Yeah seems like kangaroo tendons are much stronger than pig/cow ones. Per the article.
        • midoridensha 3y ago
          Seems pretty obvious, considering the way kangaroo legs work. I'm surprised it took people this long to figure this out, though I guess since pigs and cows are eaten as food so much, there's a huge surplus of their tendons, unlike kangaroos'.
• benatkin 3y ago
  Another case of this: > You've heard of the golden rule, haven't you? Whoever has the gold makes the rules.
• rcxdude 3y ago
  Patents can in fact work that way in practice. Generally speaking the art of the patent is to describe the technique in as broad a way as possible as to cover any possible way to accomplish anything similar while avoiding as many important details needed to actually accomplish the goal as possible. That way the patent is useless for anyone who wants to solve the problem but very useful for you to go after anyone who manages to figure it out on their own.
  • toss1 3y ago
    That is indeed the current practice, but it is the opposite of the original intent of patent concept. The idea was to grant a temporary monopoly in exchange to revealing the technique — it was supposed to advance technology faster. The standard was (and AFAIK, still is) that the technique or technology must be revealed in sufficient detail that it can be reproduced "by a skilled practitioner in the field without undue experimentation". Of course, that was at a time when technological progress was much slower, and less transnational.
    • rcxdude 3y ago
      yeah, there's a pretty wide gulf between patents in practice and their original intent, alas.