As Google has grown throughout the years, one result has been their investment in the massive computing power needed to drive all of their services. In a new effort to make use of that computing power, a new Wall Street Journal report indicates Google has turned to their Google X team to start a new project called the Baseline Study to collect anonymous genetic and molecular information in an effort to paint a picture of what a healthy human should be like. That can then be used to help researchers identify potential markers that signal problems and help people become more proactive in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As Dr. Andrew Conrad, who is heading up the project, notes, “We are just asking the question: If we really wanted to be proactive, what would we need to know? You need to know what the fixed, well-running thing should look like.”
According to Google, the initial stage of the project that started this summer consists of clinical testing to collect a variety of bodily fluids from 175 people. Once this pilot stage is complete, Conrad’s team which consists of 70 to 100 experts in a range of fields related to the human body will work medical schools at Duke and Stanford to expand the program and start collecting data from thousands of people.
Google says all of the information they collect will be anonymous. For instance, once the project starts collecting samples at Duke and Stanford, investigators at those facilities – who will not be Google employees – will remove personally identifiable information before forwarding the data to Google. In addition, institutional review boards will be established to monitor the project and the use of the data that is collected.
Along with the clinical testing, the Google X Life Sciences team is exploring development of wearable devices to collect other data on a continuous basis, like heart rates, heart rhythms, and oxygen levels. Smart contact lenses may also be utilized as part of the study to monitor glucose levels.
Besides the availability of massive computing power, Google indicates part of the reason it is able to embark on the project is the continuing decline in costs to process the information. For example, a little over a decade ago the cost to sequence a human genome was more than $100 million. Now, the cost is down to around $1,000.
Dr. Conrad believes the collection and analysis of this information is consistent with Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it useful to people.
source: Wall Street Journal
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