Jamais Cascio’s “Generic Biomedicine” post on the appropriately named “Worldchanging” blog poses a simple question. “The American patent on Human Growth Hormone — useful for fighting wasting diseases associated with AIDS — expired in 2003. So why isn’t there a far-less-expensive “generic” version available in the US?” His answer includes both the technical answer and a fascinating discussion of the application of “Open Source” principles to biotechnology, including what is already happening and what may well happen in the future.