Appeal No. 2005-2663 Page 12 Application No. 10/140,323 graph theory mathematics . . . to determine an adjacency list characterizing all direct and indirect genetic interactions in said genetic network.” We have reviewed K�ffner but do not find a disclosure therein of a method meeting the limitations of claim 1. As we understand K�ffner, it discloses a method of analyzing data pertaining to a metabolic pathway; i.e., a series of chemical reactions catalyzed by enzymes that convert a starting material into a final product. See, e.g., Figures 11 and 12. Thus, as we understand them, the nodes in the graph shown in K�ffner’s Figure 12 represent different chemical compounds and the edges represent chemical reactions (or the enzymes that catalyze them). K�ffner states that a “metabolic display (MD) (e.g. Figure 12) is a PETRI net, which exhibits in a compact (though redundant) way the space of all pathways between given source and sink in a network compatible with a set of constraints.” In other words, the PETRI net disclosed by K�ffner is designed to show all the possible paths that a molecule could travel as it was converted from a starting material (source) into a final product (sink), and thereby present a more realistic view of what actually happens in biological systems than is given by the simplified metabolic pathways usually presented in textbooks (and in K�ffner’s Figure 11). Therefore, the method disclosed by K�ffner does not appear to be one that would act on data in the way defined by claim 1 on appeal, nor does it appear to generate “an adjacency list characterizing all direct and indirect genetic interactions in [a] genetic network.” The examiner has not adequately explained how the cited reference discloses all the limitations of the claimed method and the limitations are not apparent to us. We therefore reverse the rejection under 35 U.S.C. � 102(a).Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007