Blockchain 3.0 (VII): Blockchain is a low-cost industrialized gene sequencing solution

Gene sequencing is constrained by two issues: policy, computing power, and large-scale data storage.

Current status of gene sequencing regulation

Including Europe and the United States, due to paternalistic government policies, individuals are not allowed to obtain their own genetic data. This results in us being unable to learn about potential major diseases in advance through genetic data: Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, etc. If we can learn about them through genetic data, we can try to avoid them by changing our lifestyle habits.

Take the United States as an example. Due to strict regulation, consumer genetics organizations have been closed. The government has guided them to develop by providing services within the medical system, which has greatly weakened consumer genetic services (similar to 23andme). Under such a system, blockchain-based genetic services are a good idea. They can provide individuals with low-cost genetic sequencing services and allow data to be controlled through private keys, circumventing policy restrictions.

Major disease challenges

Due to environmental pollution, food problems and other factors, cancer has exploded in China in recent years. When detected, it is basically in the late stage and there is no room for recovery. Almost everyone has such examples around them, even relatives, and they are extremely sad. Even Mr. Jack Ma lamented this problem, but he is temporarily powerless to do anything about it.

Facing the challenges of diseases such as cancer, the future medical reform will change from diagnosing the disease and then treating it to preventing it in advance through big data. By using personalized big data as predictive information for potential future conditions, personalized genetic data is important core data for preventive medicine, personal information database, and as a basis for treatment during medical consultation. It makes it possible for us to enter a healthy era.

Low-cost industrial gene sequencing solution

In addition to policies, a core issue that currently restricts gene sequencing is the limitation of computing power and large-scale data storage. These two issues determine that gene sequencing can only serve a small number of high-end people, and industrialization for ordinary consumers cannot be realized.

As a decentralized, large-scale, secure, distributed database, coupled with massive computing power (currently the computing power of the Bitcoin network is a thousand times that of the top 500 computers combined), blockchain will become the technical foundation required for industrial gene sequencing. Blockchain sequencing will break through the bottleneck of performing a few hundred sequencing tasks per day, and ultimately allow us to meet the sequencing needs of billions of people around the world. In the future, we can even sequence all animals, plants, viruses, cancers, and other objects to solve various potential problems.

In addition, the genome sequencing of all human beings requires global resource collaboration. The decentralized nature of blockchain has a natural advantage in pooling resources from various countries, so that other countries will not be less enthusiastic about participating because of the dominance of the United States or China. Considering the requirements of cost, technology and scale, the best way to build this industry is for multinational regional centers to collaborate in genome sequencing and process the result data. Compared with a single country, this is a low-cost and efficient solution.

I believe that in the near future, as blockchain gene sequencing technology matures, gene sequencing services for mass consumers will become popular.

References:
illumina: http://www.illumina.com/
23andme: https://www.23andme.com
BGI: http://www.genomics.cn/

About me: My online name is Blue Lotus, my real name is Wang Xiaoming, WeChat/QQ: 263305605, public account: xm123798. Partner of Zhaoxi Network (zhaoxi.co). I am committed to promoting the development of the blockchain industry and promoting blockchain solutions.
Original article: http://wangxiaoming.com/blog/2016/03/31/blockchain-3-gene-sequencing/