Emma Hutchings at PSFK: “Google and Autism Speaks have collaborated to launch ‘Mssng‘, an awareness campaign to support the development of the world’s largest genomic database on autism. By sequencing the DNA of over 10,000 people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families, Mssng aims to answer many of the questions about the disorder that still remain unknown.
The Google Cloud will ensure that all of the stored sequenced data is accessible for free to researchers around the world. Scientists will be able to study trillions of data points in one single database. As a result of this open resource, many subtypes of autism could be identified, leading to more accurate and personalized treatments for individuals.
The huge amount of data being collected has created unique challenges for storage, analysis, and access. The Google Cloud Platform provides a solution with the engineering innovation needed to address the storage and analysis challenges. It also provides a portal for open source access by qualified researchers.
The campaign for Mssng includes visual components with striking images of crystalized DNA that tell the story of who we are as individuals. It will be supported on social media by a movement to try to raise both awareness and donations. Supporters are encouraged to remove vowels from their Twitter display name and post the following tweet: “We’re missing a lot of information on autism. Support @AutismSpeaks project #MSSNG by removing letters from your name: http://mss.ng.”
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