CRE8R DAO Twitter Spaces with Genomes DAO
Primer: Genomes DAO is back again on a CRE8R DAO-hosted Twitter Space. Join Aldo De Pape, CEO and Co-Founder of Genomes DAO, and Genomes Intern as they share with the audience the developments over at Genomes DAO. Particularly noteworthy is the Geneticats NFT whose artwork is algorithmically generated from the hashes of the individual’s DNA.
Background Of Aldo De Pape
CEO and Co-Founder of Genomes DAO
Mark Hahnel, his Co-Founder, holds a PhD in stem cell biology from Imperial College
They met while they were working for Macmillan, the publisher of Nature, one of the most well-known scientific journals in the world
They worked together to build a company called Figshare
After that, Aldo left to start his Edtech company called TeachPitch
Started Genomes DAO with Mark and 3 others in 2018
From 2014 to 2018, they had discussions about the value of DNA and how one’s DNA could be protected
Genomes DAO wants to empower each individual to unlock the value of their DNA and to remain in full control of it
What Pain Points Are Genomes DAO Solving?
People may think that they are in control of their DNA. However, consumer genetic companies such as 23andMe and ancestry.com have an easy way to become the owner of your DNA
Consumer genetic companies sell kits to customers. Customers put their saliva in a tube and send it back to these companies. These companies sequence customers’ DNA and provide customers with a report on their ancestry
The companies become the official owner of their customers’ data and cross-sell it to pharmaceutical companies and research organizations
Though some of these companies might not have the intention to sell customers’ data, they could get acquired and that relationship of trust would no longer apply
“I'm not telling you any conspiracy theories, or I'm really not trying to scare anyone, but there’s a future where insurance companies will, on the basis of your genomic data, be able to no longer provide you with a specific policy. Another scenario is where employers will be able to look at your genomic data, compare it with other candidates and basically make the decision to not give you that specific job, because you are more susceptible to a certain disease.”
- Aldo de Pape
Genomes DAO is trying to be a decentralized version of genetic companies. They want to do research on genetic data but enable people to be the actual owners of their genetic data
User’s data will be stored in a secure vault where the only person who has access to the vault is the individual themselves
Their infrastructure is connected to pharmaceutical companies and research companies. When these companies want to query user data, users have the authority to either grant permission or reject the request, however, the user ultimately has control over their data and who gets access to it
Users will be rewarded when they allow these companies to query the data
23andMe was paid $300 million by GlaxoSmithKline for cross-selling customer genetic data
Blackstone, one of the largest private equity companies in the world, took a majority stake in Ancestry.com because genetic data is extremely valuable
It’s also scary that you do not know what they are going to use your data for
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
In previous interviews, people always recommended this book to Aldo
Henrietta Lacks was a poor lady living in Baltimore. She died in the 1950s
John Hopkins Hospital found out that Henrietta’s cells were perpetually reproducing themselves, but did not tell her and her family that she had such incredible cells
These cells, known as HeLa cells, are used to find cures for cancer today
15 years ago, the family found out that John Hopkins took their grandmother’s cells and made themselves the owner
Legally, they did not need to inform the family. Morally, that was wrong
On Thermo Fisher Scientific, one carton of HeLa cells is sold at $600. However, Genomes Intern does not think that Henrietta’s family is compensated for that
What Does Genomes DAO Do Differently?
They are working with Nebula genomics, one of the most privacy-focused sequencing providers
Genomes DAO have the ability to conduct audits on them to ensure that they are not storing the data for themselves
Once DNA has been sequenced, it will be uploaded to an AMD SEV vault
The vault is similar to MetaMask — it comes with a 12-word seed phrase. Only the vault owner has the seed phrase
Owners can do multiple things with their vault:
Query the data themselves
Run a rare disease test to see if they are susceptible to certain rare diseases or they can view their ancestry results. These tests are live now, but more tests will be added to the platform over time
Monetize their genome by allowing pharmaceutical and research companies to query their data
The actual genomes are not put on the blockchain
What is put on the blockchain is the auditable record of queries made to the vault
What Happens To Your Data After A Pharmaceutical Or Research Organization Queries It?
Genomes DAO is a repeat consent protocol — only a small, designated part of your genome can be queried per request
When queries are made, the raw genomic information is not provided. Instead, only the answer to the query is provided (e.g. does someone have the gene for long COVID — yes or no)
As it is a repeat consent protocol, if another 3rd party asks the same question down the road, that entity would have to pay you for that query as well
Your raw genomic data never leaves the vault
Privacy Of The Data
When users are paid in GENE tokens, the transaction hash will be public
If people link their ENS to their wallet address, it would just indicate that they have a Genomes DAO vault. They would not know what the query is about or the genetic data of the person
Users have a personal dashboard where they can see the queries made by pharmaceutical/research organizations
Is The Query Protocol Up And Running?
The tech stack is built and the platform is live
Genomes DAO core team is tidying up the UI before an influx of new users from the NFT sale
At this stage, they are able to query the data and generate reports themselves (for ancestry and rare diseases)
After their successful sale on Sushi, they expanded their team from 10 to 17 people. They are working with bioinformaticians and developers to help with adding new tests to the platform (beyond rare disease and ancestry)
In the future, they will continue to develop reports themselves or open up the API into an “app store” type format
Did They Build The Protocol Themselves?
They built the protocol of querying the data themselves. Worked with partners AMD and Consensys Tachyon Accelerator
As queries become more complex in the future, they might build more than 1 protocol
Is There Token Gating On Their Platform?
None of the data is hosted on the blockchain
The data is hosted in these AMD SEV vaults and organizations are able to query these vaults
The blockchain will be used as an audit trail
Geneticats NFTs
Features
One of their goals is to hit the 10,000 genomes mark, where the dataset is large enough such that pharmaceutical companies and research organizations would want to query it
Thought of Using NFTs to allow people to redeem a whole-genome sequencing kit from their website and spread awareness about genomic data privacy rights
It will take 12-14 weeks to receive the genome sequencing kit
After the genome is sequenced and in the vault, there will be a 2nd NFT. A certain segment of the person’s genome will be used to create a second NFT from a generative art algorithm
This will happen down the road as they still have yet to commission the artists
“We kind of have a monopoly where we're the only entity that can safely and securely make generative art from someone's genome.”
- Genomes Intern
How The Process Is Structured:
Get the NFT of the cat —> Redeem the genome sequencing kit on the Ether Cards platform —> put in your address —> provide your saliva sample and send it back to them —> genome gets sequenced —> use the GenomeDAO platform (ancestry, rare-disease, and more tests to come)—> use your genome to create generative art
Cost Of The NFT/Sequencing Kit
The cat NFTs will be minted on Ethereum
It should cost ~0.15 ETH
Data Protection Laws In The Field Of Genome Sequencing
Aldo and Mark are very familiar with GDPR and other similar laws. They have built technology ventures in the Web2 space before Genomes DAO
There will be goalposts shift in technology and lawmakers are always going to be behind what technology can do and how it operates
Direct-to-consumer genetic companies have violated the privacy of their customers. However, there is no alternative in the market that respects the privacy of customer’s genetic data until Genomes DAO has come to the scene
Hence, they are ahead of the curve with regard to the privacy of genetic data. People are becoming more aware of the privacy of their genetic data
Even in an extreme scenario where Blackstone buys up all the GNOME tokens, they would still not have access to any of the Genomes vaults at all
Aldo’s View On Regulations In The UK Regarding NFTs and Crypto
Lawmakers and technology are two completely different worlds
Eventually, those two worlds will come together
They are registered as a Limited in the United Kingdom
They also deal with national genomic sequencing initiatives, universities, and large hospitals
They comply with all rules in the UK, including GDPR
Will Similar Genomes End Up With Similar Artwork?
Thinks that it is possible with the tech stack that every hash generates something unique
Genomes DAO And The Funding Of Public Goods
Genomes DAO is thinking about they can work and fund public goods
Spoke to someone working on an initiative to get genome sequencing kits to a certain demographic of individuals in South America, which are very susceptible to the Alzheimer’s gene that reduce life span to only a few years after detection
Could have public goods or non-profits donate to allow individuals to get their genomes sequenced
If individuals choose to accept queries, they would get paid in GENE tokens. With DeFi, individuals could swap some GENE for ETH and become a LP to earn GNOME, becoming owners of the actual protocol
This is the ethos of Web3 where people can start from nothing and then move on towards ownership
What Do They Mean By GNOME Token Holders Owning A Part Of The DAO?
The ideal future is that the DAO takes a cut from the queries
Aldo is working on transitioning the company into a DAO
However, they still need to have a physical presence for the sake of compliance purposes
They have a governance token so that people can buy into the DAO
The Mint Date For The NFTs
Will be on 28 February 2022
Keep an eye on the announcement channels and the Genomes DAO Twitter account for news
They will be holding a few Twitter spaces in the next few weeks and will be doing some giveaways of their NFT/test kits
Where Can Listeners Find Them?
They can hop in to the Discord and ask questions
Every Thursday, they have a DAO meeting going over the updates
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