What Happens When Genomics Meets Politics?
The number of people having their genomes sequenced
could reach more than 100 million by 2025, researchers estimated. Policy-makers around the world started to realize
the incredible potential in genomics for population health in the last 3-5
years, but there are huge question marks whether they can manage the use of this
incredibly useful pool of data in an appropriate framework, with well-thought-out
means, for the right purposes, meaning for the well-being of humans and
communities in the present and the future. Here, we launched an article series
to look at the countries with the most experience. Let’s start with a truly
positive example: the fairytale from the digital republic: Estonia.
Your whole-genome
sequenced as a holiday special for $200?
Currently, anyone can order a DNA test for full genome
sequencing on their smartphone and pay with virtual wallets, Apple or Google
Pay, for example, while sitting on the couch in their living room. 15 years
ago, not a single ingredient of the previous sentence existed: no virtual
wallets, no smartphones, and no sequenced genome. Okay, perhaps your couch
would have been the same. The point is that technological progress has reached
incredible heights in an absurdly short time – and that will likely accelerate
in the years to come.
Take whole-genome sequencing. While deciphering the secrets of the human DNA for the first time through the completion of the state-funded Human Genome Project took 15 years, today you can o...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Future of Medicine Genomics Healthcare Policy data data privacy data security Estonia ethics Gene genetic genetics Genome genome sequencing health data personal genomics Personalized medicine population population genomic Source Type: blogs
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