It has been widely reported that DNA sequencing has enjoyed a Moore’s Law style drop in pricing as computing power has risen such that it is now a technology that is within reach of many of us.

Indeed, projects such as the UK’s Biobank aim to have the full medical breakdown of several hundred thousand people ready and available for medical research in the coming years.

Suffice to say, as more of us gain access to our genetic data, the challenge will become how we make sense of this, as the number of us with detailed knowledge of genetics will perhaps be rather small.

Tailored information

One start-up that is attempting to improve matters is called Genetic Compass. They’re attempting to offer people a customized news feed that is specifically tailored for their genetic makeup.

The app, which has been developed by a team of geneticists, allows users to first upload their genome information, before the app then scours the web for the latest research and articles that are relevant to that DNA.

The articles that will be sent to users will be around things such as how gene variants behave or whether a new drug is influenced by particular genes.

Now of course, it’s one sending this information over to people, but it’s another again being able to do so in a manner that is understandable to users.

As far as I can tell, the app merely acts as a signposting service and does not do anything to help make content easier to understand, or at least less prone to mis-understanding.

It is nonetheless an interesting first step into this very new field, and one that will be worth following to see how it develops as mapping our personal genomes becomes more widespread.