Google is expanding its reach into the health care industry. Not only has the company developed a contact lens that detects diabetes, but now the company has set up Baseline Study, a new project dedicated to studying the human genome.
The idea behind Baseline Study is simple: Google wants to collect genetic information from healthy bodies and study that DNA with the hope of helping doctors diagnose diseases earlier. A healthy body acts as a "baseline" for physicians, giving them an idea of what a healthy body's genetic material looks like as opposed to one with disease.
Dr. Andrew Conrad joined Google X, the company's research division, several years ago. He is in charge of Baseline Study and has put together a team of nearly 100 expert scientists for the project.
"With any complex system, the notion has always been there to proactively address problems," Dr. Conrad said. "That's not revolutionary. 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."
As opposed to finding cures for particular illnesses, Baseline Study looks to proactively prevent the diseases in the first place. For example, we know that high cholesterol usually means a higher risk of heart attack. If a "baseline" model shows a molecular process that breaks down fat more efficiently, perhaps scientists can replicate that process for someone who lacks that specific trait and is at a higher risk of a heart condition. Learning what to look for enables researchers to find those biomarkers that cause disease.
Baseline Study will not only map the volunteers' genomes, but will also collect genetic history on the volunteers' parents. In addition to its diabetes-detecting contact lenses, the company is developing other wearable tech which will monitor heart rate, oxygen levels and how the body reacts to stress.
Google's massive network of computers and data centers will power Baseline Study, allowing the company to store the large amounts of genetic information collected, as well as giving researchers easy access to that data.
Of course, this also raises some privacy concerns. Do we want Google to have access to the most intimate data about us? Most might be uncomfortable with that, although the company has stated that the data collection for Baseline Study would be anonymous. However, in the future, large companies, such as insurance agencies, might pay big bucks for that data.
The project itself may seem like a pipe dream, but Google has always been a company with lofty goals and is known for its "moonshot" projects, such as delivering internet via balloons and satellites. Of course, no one expects Baseline Study to show results overnight, but the company believes that with time and dedication, we will be able to prevent many illnesses using this kind of research.
