The clever bit was that the receiving nanoparticles, which carried the pharmaceutical payload, were doped with protein fragments that bind to fibrin and thus to the wound-stanching quilts that form when the heat from the gold nanorods does its work.

ECONOMIST: Monitor

That's why Kim pooh-poohs speculation by some pharmaceutical industry watchers that his appointment represents a vote of confidence from Merck in protein-based drug research.

FORBES: Peter Kim To Head Merck's Labs

An anonymous pharmaceutical company on Celera's subscriber list is now working to see if the gene will produce an alpha interferon protein that might be used as a drug.

BBC: Human gene patents defended