After engaging in the fight against aginghaving created smart glasses and smart lenses to help presbyopes and diabetics, Google is launching into genetics. Larry Page, co-founder of the search engine, presented his new project, Baseline : study the molecular system and genetic of a hundred human bodies in perfect health to identify biomarkers of good health. The data could then be used to detect the origins and causes of disease as early as possible.
The project brings together between 70 and 100 researchers in physiology, optics, biochemistry and even molecular biology. Andrew Conrad is the biologist behind the project. For now, 175 patients are taking part in the experiment, but Google dreams of extending its research to thousands of people.
Preventing diseases and finding new treatments
Participants will undergo a battery of tests. The researchers will study the complete genome, the history of the parents as well as the way in which their metabolism reacts to certain foods and drugs.
The aim is to find “biomarkers” of good health. In the long term, one can also imagine that these elements would make it possible to preventcertain diseases and to find new treatments. “To prevent a problem, we first want to know what a repaired item looks like that is working well,” says Dr. Conrad. But we will have to be patient, the study will take years and there is nothing certain for the moment.
