With Thanksgiving approaching, Techonomy's resident champion of genomics details some things she's thankful for this year: Better Cancer Testing; Increased Data-Sharing Efforts; Scientists Who Push Boundaries (and Police Themselves Too); Living Foundries; and the FDA's Approval of the First DTC Genetic Test. She looks forward to more advances that will help regular consumers as programs like the federal Precision Medicine Initiative kick off. More
Tag Index / Showing 21 - 40 of 55 results for “genomics”
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
How Anybody Can Help Advance Genomic Medicine Now
Genomic medicine is on the horizon, and is likely to change healthcare. But there’s no shortage of challenges: regulations, data-sharing limits, funding, and lack of research participants, to name a few. But the biggest obstacle, surprisingly, is what's called "informed consent." That's what people need to agree to if they are to participate in research. And right now, each of us has a unique chance to minimize this obstacle by speaking out for a change. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare Society
Meeting My Genome: This Expensive Test Still Isn’t for Everyone
Earlier this year, I moderated a panel discussion at Techonomy Bio and asked speakers whether genome sequencing was ready for the average consumer. Their responses were split. Having now just gotten my own genome sequenced, I can say definitively: yes it’s ready, and no it isn’t. More
Can Hot Consumer Genomics Startup Helix Keep the FDA at Bay?
A new company launched by the market leader in DNA sequencing aims to bring genomics to the masses. Helix, kicked off on August 18 with a capital injection of more than $100 million, appears to embrace a direct-to-consumer approach that hasn’t been seen since pioneer 23andMe's ready-to-mail spit kits. Given the FDA’s firm pushback against 23andMe, though, does Helix has a bright future? More
Challenges for Genomics in the Age of Big Data
Last week, a group of respected researchers published a commentary about the coming data challenges in genomics. Comparing the projected growth of genomic data to three other sources considered among the most prolific data producers in the world—astronomy, Twitter, and YouTube—these scientists predict that by 2025, genomics could well represent the biggest of big data fields. With the raw data for each human genome taking up about 100 GB, we’re well on our way. Genomics only recently entered the big data realm, and we have major issues to address before it leapfrogs every other data-generating group. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare Opinion
Obama’s Not-So-Daring Precision Medicine Plan
For all the attention that President Obama’s precision medicine initiative has garnered in the weeks since he first mentioned it in his State of the Union address, you’d think the program was the next version of the Human Genome Project. But unlike that effort, which was a wildly audacious push to revolutionize biology and medicine, the modest new initiative—and its $215 million price tag—seems downright underwhelming. More
Techonomy’s Most-Read Articles of 2014
As 2014 winds down, we look back on a productive and impactful year at Techonomy. Our events and publishing projects continued the dialogue about the centrality of technology in modern life and its potential to make the world better. Our editorial content is a growing channel. Our community of writers and videographers includes over 100 published contributors, including both professional journalists and thought leaders of industry, politics, and public service. Here's a look back at our five most-read Techonomy exclusives of the past twelve months. More
Bio & Life Sciences Techonomy Events Video
The Next Revolution Will Be Biologized
Innovation in biology is accelerating at a rate that makes Moore’s Law look leisurely, throwing open doors to opportunities unimaginable. From food to fuel, manufacturing to medicine, business to buildings, what do the visionaries see just beyond the horizon? Stanford's Drew Endy, Brian Frezza of Emerald Therapeutics, Nancy J. Kelley of the New York Genome Center, and Floyd Romesberg of The Scripps Research Institute discuss the social and economic impact of biotech in this discussion, moderated by Marcus Wohlsen of WIRED, from the opening day of the Techonomy 2014 conference in Half Moon Bay, Calif. More
Could Genomics Revive the Eugenics Movement?
An NYU exhibit about the history of the eugenics movement is more than a look back: it’s a timely reminder in the age of genomics that we have a social responsibility to consider not only what’s medically and scientifically possible, but also the potential social consequences. Otherwise we could start making decisions that future generations would find to be as shameful as 20th century eugenics appears to us. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
Our Era of Preventive Genetic Screening: Brought to You in Part by Mary-Claire King
Two decades ago, Mary-Claire King made one of the most important contributions to modern healthcare when she discovered the first gene linked to breast cancer. Now, she’s trying to one-up herself. King, a genetics pioneer who won a major scientific award this week from the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, has issued a call to change how we think about gene testing in an approach she believes will prevent cancer, not just catch it early. (And if you’ve never met King, the fact that she’s using her award to shed light on a serious public health need rather than to celebrate her own career tells you a little something about her character.) More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
Diagnosing the First Patient: Genomics to the Rescue
Nic Volker. Beatrice Rienhoff. Alexis and Noah Beery. If you happen to be a scientist or clinician in the genomics field, you already know the topic of this article just from those four names. Each is a child who suffered from a mysterious or even one-of-a-kind disease. Collectively, they endured years in hospitals, met dozens of doctors, took countless tests to achieve that precious objective: a diagnosis. And for each of these kids, DNA sequencing was critical to providing that answer. More
The Coming Era of Personal Genomics
If the idea of having everyone’s genome sequenced at birth brings images to your mind from "Blade Runner" or "Gattaca," you’re not alone. The tremendous potential of understanding and using genomic information from birth to death suggests motives both beneficent and nefarious. This path is quite realistic, given the galloping state of modern genomic science. That’s one reason genomics will loom large at our upcoming Techonomy Bio conference in Mountain View, Calif., on June 17. In this article we conduct a Techonomy thought exercise: envisioning a world in which everyone has his or her genome sequenced at birth (or, in some cases, even earlier). More
NYU Scientists Lead Synthetic Chromosome Breakthrough
Another huge milestone has been reached in synthetic biology. Scientists have created a working chromosome and inserted it into a living cell. The cell continued to act normally—what scientists consider a key measure of success. While chromosomes have already been created for bacteria, accomplishing the feat with a brewer's yeast cell, a more complex organism, is a major accomplishment. Jeff Boeke, director of NYU's Institute for System's Genetics and the leader of the research team, was quoted as saying, "We have made of 50,000 changes to the DNA code in the chromosome and our yeast is still alive. That is remarkable… It is the most extensively altered chromosome ever built." The potential efficiencies created by these synthetic strains of yeast open doors to remarkable medical and biofuel opportunities, to name just a couple. More
Analytics & Data Bio & Life Sciences
Forensics’ Next Frontier: Translating DNA into a Mug Shot
Anthropological genomics researcher Mark Shriver at Penn State has teamed up with scientists in the university's forensics department to leverage big data, DNA, and 3D imaging to translate a drop of blood into a facial recognition tool. Shriver's lab conducts various studies using a method known as "admixture mapping," which helps them identify ancestral genes linked to facial traits, combined with population genomics to understand those genes' evolutionary histories. More
Talking with the Government’s $1,000 Genome Man
There’s been a lot of attention paid to the tremendous progress in making DNA sequencing so cheap that scanning a person’s genome could cost just $1,000. This pricing free-fall has occurred markedly faster than with comparable drops for other technologies, such as computers. Most people would assume that credit is due mostly to the progress made by companies, but in reality the man most responsible for approaching the $1,000 genome is Jeffery Schloss, an unassuming federal employee who works as a program director for the National Human Genome Research Institute. More
Life Sciences: What to Expect in 2014
Now that we have recapped the major trends of 2013, let's look ahead to what will be exciting in 2014 in life sciences. In the past couple years, scientists have gone from the first proof it was possible to sequence the genome of a fetus using cells from a mother’s blood, to doing it a number of successful ways. Ethical considerations aside, this is a remarkable scientific achievement that has major implications for clinical utility. More
Bio & Life Sciences Business Internet of Things Security & Privacy
People, Companies, and Trends: Techonomy’s 2013 Top Ten
As 2013 winds down, Techonomy takes a moment to look back on highlights from the year, especially those that portend—we think—the future. Our Top Ten list recognizes the people, companies, and ideas that embodied how technology is catalyzing change in business and society. Some of the individuals and organizations here were represented at our 2013 conferences, labs, and dinners, where we convene leaders to explore the biggest tech-driven challenges and opportunities. Some were featured in our expanding online editorial content. More
Analytics & Data Bio & Life Sciences Business
23andMe’s FDA Battle Provokes Furious Debate
Medical researchers, genomics experts, and industry pundits took wildly divergent points of view in a media storm that erupted last week over FDA’s stern letter ordering 23andMe to stop marketing its Personal Genome Service. The agency cited concerns about “the public health consequences of inaccurate results.” Others say public access to genomic information is just the beginning of ongoing disruption in healthcare. More
FDA Tells 23andMe to Stop Selling DNA Tests
Citing concerns "about the public health consequences of inaccurate results" from its Personal Genome Service, the FDA on Friday told 23andMe CEO Ann Wojcicki in a stern Warning Letter that her company must "immediately discontinue marketing" the service "until such time as it receives FDA marketing authorization for the device." The Twittersphere responded with shock and some outrage. More
Five Challenges to Using Your Genome
At last week’s 5th annual Consumer Genetics Conference, hundreds of scientists, clinicians, app developers, and analytical experts convened to talk about DNA analysis for healthcare and consumer applications. The good news: legions of clever, highly motivated people are working hard to make sense of the human genome and help the rest of us lead better lives. The bad news: major impediments stand in the way of free-flowing, useful genomic information. Here are the top five hurdles to be cleared before you will have ready access to your DNA information so you can improve your health and your life. More
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