Google's electronic health efforts have had limited success, but the company's Google X "moonshot" division is now taking on a more ambitious, health-related project: mapping human genetic and molecular data.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Google X's Baseline Study will anonymously collect genetic materials from 175 volunteers. Google algorithms will then crunch the info to identify "biomarkers" that might help with early disease detection.

Prevention is the ultimate goal with Baseline, rather than treatment. The Journal pointed to a biomarker that might identify the ability for someone to break down fatty foods. If someone has difficulty breaking down those foods, their doctor might suggest a diet different from those who have no trouble. But it would be done early on, before those fatty foods have taken their toll, which could hopefully ward off heart disease and other ailments.

Heading up Baseline is Dr. Andrew Conrad, who joined Google last year and is known for pioneering a way to cheaply scan for HIV in donated blood.

The project is already underway, with an unnamed clinical testing firm working with 175 people to collect things like urine, blood, saliva, and tears. Later, Duke and Stanford Universities will also run trials, the Journal said.

Dr. Conrad told the paper that the Google X Life Sciences group is working on a wearable device that Baseline participants will wear to collect data like heart rate. They will probably also wear the smart contact lenses that Google showed off in January (pictured), when available.

There are, of course, privacy and ethnical concerns when it comes to collecting genetic data. Insurance companies would probably love to get their hands on the info, and maybe an advertiser or two. And, of course, one could imagine a dystopian future where people are segregated by genetic makeup.

The Journal said Google X will seek to avoid such scenarios via institutional review boards, while boards from the Duke and Stanford medical schools will have control over how the information is used.

Back in September, Google announced Calico, a new company that will focus on health and well-being and tackle how technology can positively affect aging and associated diseases. Arthur D. Levinson, chairman and former CEO of Genentech and chairman of Apple, is Calico's CEO and a founding investor.

For more, check out PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses Baseline.

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