Although it sounds like something from sci-fi TV series Orphan Black, Google recently announced it will begin storing human genome information in the cloud, all for the price of $25 per genome.
However, Google's intentions are far from malevolent. The company hopes that if everyone who's had their genome decoded had their information in a database, it would help scientists with important research, including finding a cure for cancer.
For example, if a large group with breast cancer uploaded their genome to Google's cloud, researchers could study similarities in those genomes, and perhaps not only discover drugs to target specific areas of the genes affected by cancer, but maybe even find a cure by pinpointing exactly where cancer occurs at the genetic level.
"We saw biologists moving from studying one genome at a time to studying millions," says David Glazer, the software engineer who led Google Genomics. "The opportunity is how to apply breakthroughs in data technology to help with this transition."
Google's plan is a realistic one. The cost of decoding a human genome is a lot less now than it's ever been. This means that more genomes are now being decoded. However, this data is currently all over the place, with none of it connected. And there is a lot of data: each genome equals about 100 gigabytes.
Google's idea is to take that data and centralize it in their cloud, which has a massive storage capacity, not to mention the back-end of a world-class search engine. That would enable scientists with the ability to share information with each other quickly, as well as give them the capacity to run virtual experiments.
Of course, as a company, Google can't do this for free. But the company is only charging $25 per full genome and only 25 cents for partial genomes. This is less expensive than companies storing this data on their own servers, and they get the added benefit of Google's technological capabilities.
Google Genomics already has its first customer with the National Cancer Institute. The company is moving over 2 petabytes of genomic data to the cloud.
Many feel that cloud storage for genomic data will take modern medicine to the next level.
"Our bird's eye view is that if I were to get lung cancer in the future, doctors are going to sequence my genome and my tumor's genome, and then query them against a database of 50 million other genomes," says Deniz Kural, of Seven Bridges, whose company stores genome data with Amazon's cloud system. "The result will be 'Hey, here's the drug that will work best for you.' "
[Photo Credit: Wiki Commons]
