The Social Benefits of Blockchain for Health Data: Securing Patient Privacy & Control

A blockchain system for electronic health records (EHRs), framed as a protocol through
which to access and maintain health data, guarantees security and privacy through
empowering the user with control of their own data. While using a blockchain
architecture approaches interoperability through centralization of data, the use of
Ethereum’s smart contracts enables an unprecedented ease of data sharing which
transcends in simplicity of use and security. Despite this potential, these advancements
depend on patients’ ability to own their health data and the establishment of a structure
for identity verification. Furthermore, the establishment of these systems is contingent on the ability of patients to navigate these systems with competence. Separate even from
patient use, the viability of a blockchain solution is determined by the security and
standardization of the existing EHR systems. And aside from the security of a blockchain
solution, there are few incentives for individual hospitals to work to make their EHRs
accessible through a blockchain, and thus the government must lead this endeavor. (Read Article Here)

The Great US-China Biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence Race

Trans-Pacific View author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into the U.S. Asia policy.  This conversation with Eleonore Pauwels – Director of Anticipatory Intelligence Lab and Senior Program Associate, Science and Technology Innovation Program at the Wilson Center in Washington D.C. – is the 104th in “The Trans-Pacific View Insight Series.”  (READ MORE)

World Economic Forum|How to Optimize Human Biology: Where Genome Editing and Artificial Intelligence Collide

Genome editing and artificial intelligence (AI) could revolutionize medicine in the United States and globally. Though neither are new technologies, the discovery of CRISPR in genome editing and advances in deep learning for AI could finally grant clinical utility to both. The medical use of these technologies individually could result in their eventual combined use, raising new and troubling ethical, legal, and social questions. If ongoing technical challenges can be overcome, will the convergence of AI and CRISPR result in practitioners ‘optimizing’ human health? And could viewing human biology as a machine result in a willingness to optimize biology for reasons other than health alone? Given the rapid technical progress and potential benefits of genome editing and AI, answering these questions will become more pressing in the near future. Such concerns apply not only to the United States, but to the international medical community. Notably, China has demonstrated its desire to be a global leader in both genomics and AI, which could indicate the potential of these technologies to converge in China soon. What form should the international governance of these technologies take and how will it be enforced? To ensure responsible progress of genomics and AI in combination, a balance must be struck between promoting innovation and responding to ethical, social, and moral quandaries. (READ MORE)

WHAT IF YOU HAD THE POWER TO CONTROL YOUR HEALTH—FROM THE PALM OF YOUR HAND?

In this Future Tech podcast, Genome Editing, we visit with Eleonore Pauwels, the Director of the Anticipatory Intelligence Lab with the Science and Technology Program at the Woodrow Wilson Scholar Institute in Washington, D.C. Pauwels delves deep into “the democratization of genomics and biology”, the goal of which is for people to have 24/7 control of their health and even environment—imagine being able to determine that the restaurant food that you’re about to eat is contaminated with salmonella. She also explains how such a decentralization will allow someone with a certain type of leukemia, for example, to monitor their cancer levels every 1-2 weeks from their home–convenient for someone living far from their doctor or with mobility issues. She goes on to disclose the various factors preventing this application from being widely available yet (even though the technology exists) before ending with several questions that will have you looking forward to the future. (Dive in further here.)

Brave New World: The Intersection of Genomics and Artificial Intelligence

Most people are now familiar with the type of DNA testing that allows individuals to learn about their ancestry and certain health traits. But beyond consumer products like 23 and Me or Ancestry we are on the verge of a brave new world of genomics that raises significant questions about data collection and sharing, privacy, and public policy. And the Wilson Center’s Eleonore Pauwels has identified the intersection of genomics and artificial intelligence as the critical lens for examining and understanding the possibilities and challenges of what’s to come.

TED X: The Promise and Perils of DNA Editing

Today, we start envisioning the possibility to edit diseases like cancer out of our genome. But ethics and policy expert Eleonore Pauwels is urging researchers, doctors and policymakers to think together about how to design the best safety and governance mechanisms before they leap into a promising but somewhat uncertain technological future. In her talk, Pauwels explains the transformative medical potential of genome-editing, but also how we need to empower interdisciplinary research actors to delineate the uncertainties and risks around editing our genome and our germline, so that we avoid making us vulnerable to unforeseen consequences.

Eleonore Pauwels, Director of Biology Collectives, Senior Program Associate and Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington DC, is a science policy expert who explores ethical governance of converging and emerging technologies. Pauwels is particularly interested in the perils and promises of genome-editing, which involves correcting defective genes to treat and potentially cure genetic diseases. “Gene-editing can influence and modify our biological, our genetic blueprint,” Pauwels says. “It is a defining technology for the future of humanity.”

Check out great speakers and ideas at TEDxCERN: http://tedxcern.web.cern.ch/speakers/eleonore-pauwels-dna-editing

The Internet of Living Things

Volunteers around the world and pocket-size genomic sequencers could play an increasing role in protecting global health and ecosystems. (Read More)

World Economic Forum| Who Will Own The Secrets In Our Genes? A U.S. – China Race in Artificial Intelligence and Genomics

The United States has been precision medicine’s worldwide champion, conducting most of the research that first deciphered our genome about fifteen years ago. This could change with China’s heavy investment and capacity-building in the increasing convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and new genetic technologies. This golden combination of AI and genomics data has the potential to drive precision medicine to new heights by helping unravel the mysteries of why our bodies react to different chemicals, viruses, and environments, thus recommending the best medicines and treatments. As China establishes itself as a real competitive force in precision medicine, the U.S. needs to anticipate and understand what this competition means in terms of ownership of medical innovation and personal data protection. Which nation will be the first to own and patent cancer diagnostics and therapeutics vital to our future? Can our science policy and diplomacy encourage U.S.-China collaborative research efforts? The stakes are also high in terms of biosecurity, as genetic and computing research is inherently dual-use and therefore a strategic piece in a nation’s security arsenal. While it will be crucial to leverage genomic data for future health, economic and biodefense capital, these data will also have to be well managed and protected. How do we foster, at a science policy level, a U.S.-China dialogue, involving norms and values, about personal data-sharing and protection? In life sciences and genomics, the answer will require creativity and anticipation with the goal of building collaborative practices instead of walls. Which political and economic incentives can help us make this commitment to collaboration a win-win game for both nations? (READ MORE)

 

The New Bio-Citizen: How the Democratization of Genomics Will Transform Our Lives from Epidemics Management to the Internet of Living Things

The attributes of a new bio-citizen, in an internet of living things, look like this: scientists, patients, congressmen, employees —everyone—will be analyzing the DNA of their own bodies and the living species surrounding them, by running algorithms through their data sets on shared cloud labs. Portable genomic sequencers, the size of a USB and connected to our smartphones, would become an integral part of our most crucial socio-technical systems from agro-food facilities, airports, battlefields, hospitals and our DIY home labs. These DNA-reading sensors would identify the nature, transmission roads and mutations of deadly viruses, engineered bacteria and forgotten lethal pathogens that could be soon freed by the melting permafrost. In their home, individuals would have access to liquid biopsies, blood test that could track their most vital biomarkers and identify, at early stage, the pieces of DNA shredded by a cancer tumor or a viral agent. If millions of citizens were streaming these data to the cloud, citizens would build the most powerful data set for preventive and precision medicine. The genetic identity of any living thing, then, acquires a second life on the internet; it is The Internet of Living Things.

In this beginning of 21st century, are we equipped to manage the complex and uncertain ethical, security and governance entanglements coming from the Internet of Living Things? (READ MORE)

 

The Intelligent and Connected Bio-Labs of the Future: Promise and Peril in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

A vast array of technologies are rapidly developing and converging to fundamentally change how research is performed, and who is able to perform it. Gene editing, DNA synthesis, artificial intelligence, automation, cloud-computing, and others are all contributing to the growing intelligence and connectivity of laboratories. It is currently possible to perform a growing number of research tasks automatically and remotely with a few clicks of the mouse. And with the barriers of entry to synthetic biology tools like CRISPR decreasing, they will no doubt be subject to automation as well, and may even be coupled with artificial intelligence to optimize the power of genetic engineering. While this may be a boon for the development of novel vaccines and therapeutics by parties that have traditionally not had access to the necessary tools, it also opens the risk of nefarious use to engineer or edit biological agents or toxins. While there have been attempts at governance to limit the avenues by which a bad actor may gain access to the pathogens or tools to create biological weapons, the ever-increasing pace of innovation has left gaps that may be exploited. Fortunately, investment in technologies such as artificial intelligence and sequencing may also function as the best defense against the growing threat of misuse of biological agents. (READ MORE)