Hardard University Paper on Local Genomics Prize Entry

Th Harvard Crimson covers Harvard Medical School professor George M. Church and his team's effort to win the Archon Genomics X PRIZE for cheap genome sequencing.

If everyone could sequence their own genome, they would know if they were susceptible to certain diseases, and take certain preventative measures, including screenings and diet changes, said Xiaole Shirley Liu, an assistant professor of biostatistics at the School of Public Health.

Liu offered the example of cancer. “It takes multiple mutations to get cancer. If you find out that you have a few mutations already accumulated, it is not sure that you will get the additional mutation to get cancer, but you are more susceptible,” Liu said. “So these people can be more cautious in terms of cancer prevention or early detection.”

The link is from the X PRIZE Foundation.