Some patent examiners have been at the patent office for decades, and have a vast storehouse of knowledge regarding what has previously been described in a printedpublication (and thereby serves to block a patent grant).
An embarrassment to your publication I was surprised and disappointed to see that Forbes printed an article advising men not to marry educated women with full-time jobs.
Of course, who does the research and where it gets printed should not have any bearing on what the actual relationship is but, apparently, preferences and publication bias do come into the picture with quite some force.