This article was first published in the August 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
The mission of California-based Human Longevity is simple: to extend healthy lifespans. "I don't have a pill, so I'm sorry to disappoint you," says Brad Perkins, the company's chief medical officer. Instead, he's planning on lengthening lives using data. Human Longevity, Inc, co-founded with genomics pioneer Craig Venter, claims the world's largest and most comprehensive human genome-sequencing facility, now capable of sequencing 35,000 genomes per year. That will increase to 100,000 by the end of 2015. "Our focus is to build complete, integrated health records," says Perkins, "and then translate this genomic data into information and patterns." This data can then be used to understand what makes for a longer life as well as what might cause an individual life to be cut short. "The potential scale of disruption this research could cause is huge," says Perkins of his vision for the future. "By compiling genomic information and subjecting it to machine learning, we will revolutionise our rate of discovery for new therapeutics, new diagnostics and new models for advanced healthcare."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
