December 11, 2014
Image Credit: Autism Speaks
Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online
Google and Autism Speaks are joining forces to sequence the genomes of 10,000 people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and store the information in the cloud so that it could be easily accessed by researchers.
The groundbreaking initiative known as MSSNG was launched with the intention of creating the worlds largest database of sequenced genomic information on people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their family members, the advocacy group explained in a statement Tuesday.
MSSNG (pronounced missing) deliberately omits vowels in order to represent the missing pieces of the autism puzzle. It is symbolic of the missing information about autism that the project is designed to find, Autism Speaks said. The organization hailing the program as a significant milestone in advancing genomic research of autism that could lead to breakthroughs into the causes, subtypes and better diagnosis and treatment for the disorder.
According to Washington Post reporter Jim Tankersley, an estimated one of every 68 children has ASD, and scientists have only recently started figuring out the genetic and environmental factors responsible for the disorder. Much of that progress is the result of analysis of DNA of people with the condition, and Autism Speaks and Google believe that digitizing genetic information could lead to the next great breakthrough.
Rob Ring, the chief science officer at Autism Speaks, told the Washington Post that he and his colleagues were hopeful that the cloud-based initiative will provide the data on which discoveries around autism are made for years to come. The group has been collecting volunteered sequences for years, Tankersley said.
MSSNG will open its cloud portal to scientists early next year with 1,000 of them already in the bank. Researchers anywhere in the world will have the opportunity to tap in and look for new clues in that data, he added. The goal is for that access to produce a sort of crowdsourcing for autism answers.
Fast Companys David Matthews said that Googles advanced search capabilities are at the core of this new initiative. MSSNG will use Google Genomics, a tool launched earlier this year on the Mountain View, California-based tech giant that uses its search engine algorithm to investigate genetic data to find clues that will help experts better understand autism.
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Crowdsourcing For Autism Answers With Google And Autism Speaks MSSNG Project