Proudly funded by CollectiveBrain Community in Common Ground
TL;DR
Genetic data is one of the most valuable assets for scientific researchers and the pharmaceutical industry.
The paradox lies in the fact that while all health data enjoys the greatest legal framework for security and protection, historically this situation does not typically occur.
The case of Henrietta Lacks in 1951 is something that can still happen more than seven decades later.
Fortunately, blockchain technology and the cryptography that makes it possible, provide a secure and firm response to this challenge.
It is true that the democratization of individual access to genetic information began in 2008 with 23andMe, but like other actors such as Ancestry or Genomes England, the data is not in the individual possession of users. Neither is genetic sequencing done through public or private healthcare services.
Where are my data? What are they doing with them? What guarantee of security and custody do I have? Are they monetizing them without my permission?
**GenomesDAO **web3 solution offers the right answer to this problem by allowing individuals to access to their complete genome and returning sovereignty, control, and management of the genetic data to each of us. It is the tokenization of the genome and our opportunity to contribute to the precision and personalized medicine while mining DNA data to earn passive income.
I am personally involved in this DAO as a user. When you sign up by opening your account on their website, you have as a first option the direct purchase of the Nebula Genomics technology sequencing kit.
Alternatively, you can get it through their Geneticats NFTs project: a digital art collection limited to 975 unique and exclusive NFTs featuring cat images and published for purchase on the OpenSea store.
The launch campaign for this NFT collection has struck me as one of the most brilliant I've come across in the healthcare sector.
I bought this NFT âkittyâ a year ago for 0.22 Ethers. How beautiful, isn´t it?
A few months later, I received my DNA sequencing kit. The process was very simple: I collected the saliva samples and sent them anonymously with the identification code generated by my Genomes app to the laboratory. My DNA đ§Źwas on its way to the blockchain!
In October 2022, I received a notification from Genomes: the data from my two DNA strands were already encrypted, and I had access to the reports on my carrier status and my ancestry.
Here is my Ethnicity Estimate heat map:
My genetic information is protected in a vault powered by AMD-SEV ES technology, the most advanced encryption system.
This way, only I have total custody over my entire genome. No one will be able to access my DNA vault without my explicit permission â not even GenomesDAO itself.
And it is then, through my vault, that I will also be able to mine â monetize - my tokenized genome by accepting or rejecting requests from pharmaceutical companies or biomedical research companies to access to my DNA.
Moreover, by having your entire genome sequenced, I have been able to:
⢠Know my propensity to develop certain genetic diseases
⢠Identify possible mutations that could affect the health of my children.
⢠Predict how my body will respond to a given pharmacological treatment
During the current 2023, Genomes will run the first crypto payment incentivized, anonymous genomic study:
They will send a notification to the mobile app of their users asking if they express the 3 genes associated with long COVID. We will be noticed that the information is anonymous and no further details from our genome will be shared. In exchange for our agreement, we will be paid the equivalent of $100 of $GENE.
We can either accept or reject the query. If we accept, the query will be run on our genome and the results will be exported. Once completed, they will transfer the mentioned amount of $GENE to our mobile app, which also works as a crypto wallet.
This is really mining the genome!!
It is the convergence of blockchain and biotechnology, delivering value to research companies, healthcare professionals, and individuals, all in the interest of more personalized medicine and better healthcare. All this contributes to preventive health education and self-care for the general population while placing the patient at the center, with their health data in their hands.
New times are here, and unimaginable business models are emerging, driven by technologies that are rapidly transforming sectors that have traditionally shown aversion and resistance to change.
One can either strive to understand what is happening, join the change, and surf the wave, being part of it ⌠or end up being swallowed up by it.
Proud to belong to this project.