While the cause of autism is yet unknown researchers believe that by teaming up with Google they can find a cure and the cause of the condition. An Autism advocacy organization has announced that they are working with Google to build the largest autism genome database in the world using the cloud. The collaboration is named Autism Speaks Ten thousand Genomes Program. It combines extensive DNA databases and aligns them with cloud storage technology in order to make an impact in autism research. The organization believes that this program will radically make an impact in autism based genomics research. They believe that this collaboration with Google is a game changer in autism research. There is an ongoing movement in science and in the medical field to make use of big data for speeding up the efforts of research. One example is IBM’s supercomputer Watson that is helping researchers such as oncologists to find treatments for a brain cancer that is rare and aggressive. To this day, for the autism research, Autism Speaks has already made contributions of 12,000 DNA samples for the research on autism. This donation is described as the largest private collection to date to aid in autism research.
Key Takeaways:
- The organization Autism Speaks will team up with the Google Cloud Platform to create and store the largest autism genome database.
- Autism Speaks has already supplied 12,000 DNA samples, which should help researchers find connections between patients more quickly.
- It is estimated than 1 in 68 people as autism and the lifetime cost of supporting one individual with autism can top two million dollars.
“The cause of autism is still unknown, but researchers hope harnessing the power of Google will help them solve this neurodevelopmental puzzle.”
Read more: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/10/teaming-up-with-google-to-find-autism-cause/
