In one of the most closely watched intellectual property decisions of the last several years, the Supreme Court held that isolated DNA does not represent patentable subject matter, but that synthetic DNA does. Anthony LoCicero of Amster, Rothstein and Ebenstein LLC (who participated as an amicus in Myriad) discusses the Myriad decision and its factual underpinnings, the relationship of this decision with prior Supreme Court precedents, and the implications both to the biotechnology industry and to other fields for which patentable subject matter issues are economically crucial.