Universally shared biodata could create powerful ‘internet of living things’

living

Imagine students in universities becoming the first “sequencing line of defense” by detecting bacteria resistant to antibiotics and educating their neighbors about them. Imagine the same neighbors equipped with portable sequencers to identify microorganisms in soils capable of fighting resistant pathogens.

The attributes of a new “bio-citizen” then look like this: scientists, patients, congressmen, employees—everyone—will be monitoring the DNA of their own bodies on shared cloud labs. Portable genomic sequencers, the size of a USB stick and connected to our smartphones, would also be integrated to our most strategic technical systems, including agro-food facilities, airports, battlefields and hospitals. These DNA-reading sensors would identify the nature, transmission paths and mutations of deadly viruses, engineered bacteria and even forgotten lethal pathogens that could one day be freed by the melting permafrost. In their home, individuals would have access to liquid biopsies – blood tests that could track their most vital biomarkers and identify at an early stage the pieces of DNA shredded by a cancer tumor or a viral agent. If millions of citizens were streaming these data to the cloud, they would build the most powerful data set for preventive and precision medicine the world has ever known. The genetic identity of any living thing, then, acquires a new life on the Internet. We enter the age of the Internet of living things (IoLT).

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: The Internet of Living Things

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}
screenshot at  pm

Are pesticide residues on food something to worry about?

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring drew attention to pesticides and their possible dangers to humans, birds, mammals and the ...
glp menu logo outlined

Newsletter Subscription

* indicates required
Email Lists
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.