{"id":149545,"date":"2022-12-19T19:19:01","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T19:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=149545"},"modified":"2024-12-10T17:43:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T23:43:02","slug":"the-origen-project-deciphering-the-mexican-genome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/health\/the-origen-project-deciphering-the-mexican-genome\/","title":{"rendered":"The oriGen project: Deciphering the Mexican genome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On June 26th, 2000, Bill Clinton announced from the White House that the first draft of the human genome sequence was available, and the world continued to investigate. However, the banks where the information is deposited have little data on Latin Americans and even less on the Mexican genome<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Tecnol\u00f3gico de Monterrey\u2019s first Genomics in Health Conference, TecSalud launched the oriGen Project, an initiative that will study the DNA of 100,000 Mexicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the gathering, 10 well-known genomics and healthcare thought leaders explained the benefits of this research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They agreed that opening up and sharing genomic data will be an essential component to advancing precision medicine, wellness science, and disease prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A databank for understanding the Mexican genome<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The human genome is unique to each individual but understanding general health data enables advances in preventive medicine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esteban Parra<\/strong>, Director of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto, said that some populations, such as the Mexican one, have poor genetic representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a geographic imbalance and fixing this bias will give access to more diversity with greater detail<\/strong>, which will provide researchers with more evidence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolando Gonz\u00e1lez<\/strong>, head of Poblar, an initiative aiming to put together the genetic map of Argentina, told at the Conference that \u201cLatin American populations have a special background. These genetic variants are associated with populations that we know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study of genetic data consists of two parts: the genome<\/strong> and the phenome<\/strong>, a reflection of the individual\u2019s lifestyle and other variables such as the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding these together allows us to map the genetic risk of a population and prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer<\/strong> in a timely manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the oriGen Project will enable us to address the lack of data on the Mexican population and is an important window into personalized medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important to have data from different biographies, because the information acquired in one doesn\u2019t apply in another,\u201d explained Josep M. Mercader<\/strong>, a research scientist at the Broad Institute<\/a>, an organization from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard that researches genomic medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information collected will require data science<\/a> to store and interpret it correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness and prevention science<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The human genome can go further. With artificial intelligence (AI), it\u2019s possible to predict and prevent chronic diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWellness and prevention science can prevent and reverse disease, including aging,\u201d said Leroy Hood<\/strong>, Co-Founder of the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB)<\/a> and Chief Scientific Officer at Providence, a non-profit health system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hood is certain that healthy aging is possible, but \u201cthese types of projects require mass data and artificial intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researcher and his team have collected data from one million people and, with artificial intelligence, intend to address the five major challenges to modern medicine<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n