Leland Stanford Junior University

How Websites Get Ranked by Who Links to Them

This patent describes a computer method for scoring web pages or other linked documents based on the importance of the pages that link to them, helping search engines find better results.

The Math That Makes Every HTTPS Connection Secure

Whitfield Diffie, Martin Hellman, and Ralph Merkle's 1980 Stanford patent describes public-key cryptography — the breakthrough that enables two strangers to establish a shared secret over an insecure channel, making secure internet communication possible.

How to Make Hybrid DNA and Grow It in Microbes

This patent describes the foundational method for cutting and pasting DNA from different sources to create new, functional DNA molecules, then inserting them into single-celled organisms like bacteria to make copies or produce new proteins.