STAT November 29, 2023
LONDON — Data from half a million people’s whole genome sequences are now available to researchers worldwide, as the U.K. Biobank on Thursday debuted the latest addition to what it aims to be the world’s most comprehensive health data resource.
The Biobank has been building its collection over 20 years, with 500,000 volunteers recruited to provide survey responses about their health, medical records, tests of molecular markers, and imaging scans. The whole genomes of some participants were already available, but the new release this week includes the DNA portraits of the full cohort of people — the result of more than 350,000 cumulative hours of sequencing.
Adding genomic data to the heaps of the health data and medical records already...