Mervyn Jacobson read about Simons' bumpy journey and was smitten with the idea of finding value in junk DNA. In 1989 they formed GeneType and applied for their first patent covering noncoding regions and HLA. In 2000 GeneType pulled off a reverse merger with a publicly traded Australian shell company that formerly mined for gold.

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This firm went bust in 1991, when the market value of its junk-bond portfolio collapsed.

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General Motors, now loaded with liquid assets, sells at 3 times enterprise value with a junk credit rating.

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