Genomic sequencing in pandemics - The Lancet (▻https://www.thelancet...
▻https://diasp.eu/p/12425040
Genomic sequencing in pandemics - The Lancet | #genomic #covid19 #epidemiology
Genomic sequencing in pandemics - The Lancet (▻https://www.thelancet...
▻https://diasp.eu/p/12425040
Genomic sequencing in pandemics - The Lancet | #genomic #covid19 #epidemiology
Will The Real Robot Please Stand Up
▻https://hackernoon.com/will-the-real-robot-please-stand-up-6199e0e1665e?source=rss----3a8144eab
AI, #blockchain, and the value of being human with Singularity University’s Reese Jones and Project Shivom’s Henry Ines at Blockchain Economic ForumMartine Paris / Via Martine ParisWhat does the world’s first decentralized AI humanoid, Sophia the Robot, have to do with owning the data that makes us human?“A lot!” said Henry Ines, Chief Innovation Officer of Shivom, in his interview with me at the recent Blockchain Economic Forum in San Francisco. Ines, a former DFJ DragonFund partner, just completed a $35 million ICO to fund the building of Shivom’s #genomics hub and is now partnering with the makers of Sophia’s brain, SingularityNET, to use AI-driven analytics and machine learning tools to power the dawn of precision medicine.“A Tylenol that’s right for you might be different than a Tylenol (...)
Genomic Inquiries
▻https://hackernoon.com/genomic-inquiries-5c675aff55ec?source=rss----3a8144eabfe3---4
Photo by NeONBRAND on UnsplashI’ve been reading a book personalized #medicine called Genomic Messages by George Annas and Sherman Elias. It is an excellent book that gives the lay of the land when it comes to #genomics as it relates to the everyday person.In some regards, this book may be considered not that recent as it was published in 2015. It seems as though everyday there is a new headline of a breakthrough at a university for genetics or translational medicine in relation to curing disease. And, though these things may be true, there are significant ramifications of moving forward with these discoveries and technologies.Personalized MedicineAlong with the word blockchain and AI — personalized medicine or precision medicine has joined the ranks of hype. In fact, it has been the dream of (...)
Quantum Computers Disrupting #healthcare
▻https://hackernoon.com/quantum-computers-disrupting-healthcare-e3dac9a891ef?source=rss----3a814
Quantum Computing…sounds mind blowing already.It seems like another huge buzzword I get it, but whats all the hype? Why are super smart people spending their time developing and researching quantum computers?Companies like Google, Microsoft, IBM and super successful startups such as D-Wave and Rigetti Computing are investing millions and millions of dollars into quantum computers.Why? Because they are building the world’s most powerful computer to ever exist.Before I tell you how Quantum Computing will disrupt the healthcare industry, lets get you caught up with what the heck it is.In short Quantum Computers use phenomenons called superposition and entanglement to create qubits with special computational power determined by the laws of quantum mechanics.Qubits are unlike binary bits, (...)
“#Nebula_Genomics will leverage #blockchain technology to eliminate middlemen and empower people to own their personal #genomic_data. This will effectively lower sequencing costs and enhance data privacy, resulting in growth of genomic data. Our open protocol will leverage the genomic data growth by enabling data buyers to efficiently aggregate standardized data from many individual people and genomic databanks.”
Nice and interesting project but (see later).
Official corporate Web site: ▻https://www.nebulagenomics.io
The detailed white paper: ▻https://www.nebulagenomics.io/assets/documents/NEBULA_whitepaper_v4.52.pdf
A summary, with an interview of the founders: ▻http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/q-george-church-and-company-genomic-sequencing-blockchain-and-better-dru
#DNS #DNS_sequencing #genomics
After reading the white paper, some comments:
Sentences such as “Nebula network addresses are cryptographic identifiers that are not associated with any personal information.” are worrying because they seem to indicate that the authors do not really understand the concept of “personal information”. “Personal information” is not only when you name is on it. There have been a lot of research on tracing blockchain addresses.
The white paper sometimes make bold claims, then seriously reduces them. For instancen it talks about “#homomorphic_encryption”, something which is very cool for the mathematically inclined, but offers very poor performances. Later, the paper speaks only of “partially homomorphic encryption”.
Most of the security seems to rely, not on homomorphic encryption, but on Intel’s #Software_Guard_ Extensions (#SGX). SGX is an interesting technology, but quite recent. (Also, it comes from the company that puts a backdoor on every processor, through the Management Engine.) Relying on Intel security one month after Meltdown and Spectre seems audacious.
It is not clear if the “Nebula blockchain” is a private one or a public one, like Blockstack. Private blockchains remove most of the security of a blockchain.
“we want to support research conducted by non-profit institutions, such as universities.” In countries where researchers in public institutions are allowed to create for-profit companies with the results of research funded by “non-profit” research, the concept of “non-profit” is quite blurred.
Google Genomics (allows to submit #DNA for analysis in the Google cloud)
Geneticists push for global data-sharing [...] International organization aims to promote exchange and linking of DNA sequences and clinical information. It is a paradox that bedevils genomic medicine: despite near-universal agreement that doctors and geneticists should exchange more data, there has been scant movement towards achieving this goal. Now, a consortium of 69 institutions in 13 countries hopes to address the problem by creating an organization to enable the free flow of information in genomic medicine. [...]
▻http://www.nature.com/news/geneticists-push-for-global-data-sharing-1.13133