$100 Genome - Implications for DOD

[ninjagaiden9876]

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/jason/hundred.pdf

The $100 full genome sequence per person is coming, possibly by 2013-2014

What would the Medical Corps do with a database with every soldiers' genomic sequence?

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[DrMediterranean]

Looks a bit fishy

 

[GeoLeoX]

What would the Medical Corps do with a database with every soldiers' genomic sequence?

Not much, like everything else.

 

[pgg]

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/jason/hundred.pdf

The $100 full genome sequence per person is coming, possibly by 2013-2014

What would the Medical Corps do with a database with every soldiers' genomic sequence?

Did you read the article you linked?

 

[ninjagaiden9876]

Did you read the article you linked?

I did. Since it was a third party report, was curious about what others might do with imaginary database or what others think the DOD will do with the recommendations in the report.

 

[pgg]

I did. Since it was a third party report, was curious about what others might do with imaginary database or what others think the DOD will do with the recommendations in the report.

I kind of doubt the DOD will do anything with it.

Maybe use it as screen for new recruits if diseases or conditions can be picked up or predicted, and then not letting them join.

Beyond that I'm not sure I see it as any more useful than the G6PD or sickle cell testing they do on everyone already.


Any sinister weapons related applications have got to be decades away at least.

 

[DrMetal]

What would the Medical Corps do with a database with every soldiers' genomic sequence?

same thing the civilian world would do with such a database . . . .nothing. At the moment, the human genome is not useful as a medical tool, b/c it portrays too much information. It's like asking the patient to recount (for his History) everything that he's done, by the minute, throughout his entire life. It's just TMI, and we don't know where to begin with it. (Of course, we could use the genome to screen for mutations that cause known medical problems, but we already have such tests).

The proteome (the collection of proteins expressed by a human being) is actually more interesting and would probably have more predictive power (in terms of medication efficacy, side effects etc). We're decades away from mapping the entire genome to the proteome, and then utilizing that knowledge for personalized medicine. It'll happen someday (hopefully within our lifetimes), but it's gonna be a while (it's mainly a bioinformatics problem . . we'll have to let the nerdy math and computer science guys figure it out).

 

[ninjagaiden9876]

same thing the civilian world would do with such a database . . . .nothing. At the moment, the human genome is not useful as a medical tool, b/c it portrays too much information. It's like asking the patient to recount (for his History) everything that he's done, by the minute, throughout his entire life. It's just TMI, and we don't know where to begin with it. (Of course, we could use the genome to screen for mutations that cause known medical problems, but we already have such tests).

The proteome (the collection of proteins expressed by a human being) is actually more interesting and would probably have more predictive power (in terms of medication efficacy, side effects etc). We're decades away from mapping the entire genome to the proteome, and then utilizing that knowledge for personalized medicine. It'll happen someday (hopefully within our lifetimes), but it's gonna be a while (it's mainly a bioinformatics problem . . we'll have to let the nerdy math and computer science guys figure it out).

Around 2003 when the first genome was completed, if someone had said that 10 years later the whole genome could be sequenced for around $1000-$10,000, possibly to $100 very few people would have predicted that since it then cost about $3,000,000,000 then.

If there is a 1.) database, 2.) annually screened population, 3.) Single EMR, 4.) a population that one keeps track, I would have thought much more could be done.

I also think, 5.) Computational power and 6.) Manpower could exist ideally.

Maybe I am just overly optimistic about capabilities.

 

[narcusprince]

I kind of doubt the DOD will do anything with it.

Maybe use it as screen for new recruits if diseases or conditions can be picked up or predicted, and then not letting them join.

Beyond that I'm not sure I see it as any more useful than the G6PD or sickle cell testing they do on everyone already.


Any sinister weapons related applications have got to be decades away at least.

Hey that g6pd thing is important. Just found out I have the deficiency a severe variant.

 

[pgg]

Hey that g6pd thing is important. Just found out I have the deficiency a severe variant.

I wasn't saying G6PD screening wasn't important, just that I don't see much potential for individual genome sequencing to be used for anything more interesting than similar screening. Which may be useful. Someday.


Stay away from primaquine and if you get any methylene blue on your fingers don't lick 'em clean.