Decoding the impact of genomics in Life Sciences and drug discovery.

Recent advances in genomics and its roles have triggered a revolution in research in different settings, including medicine, biotechnology, life sciences and systems biology. Genomics refers to the study of genetic sequence information of organisms and attempts to understand the structure and function of these sequences and downstream biological products, which differ from genetics. It involves various different areas of research; transcriptomics, the study of global RNA expression; genotyping, measurement of DNA polymorphisms and mutations; and bioinformatics.

In life sciences, genomics has a significant impact as it expedites clinical research and drug development, personalizes diagnosis, improves patient outcomes and minimizes the cost of care. With genomic information, clinicians now are able to decide treatment strategies and therapeutic approaches. Genomic information can also assist clinicians to refine a cancer diagnosis and prognosis and change an individual's quality of life, even when therapies are not currently available.

Soaring Amount of Genomic Data

As per the reports, by 2025, an estimated 40 exabytes of storage capacity will be required for human genomic data. A single human genome takes up 100 gigabytes of storage space, and as more and more genomes are sequenced, storage needs eventually will grow from gigabytes to petabytes and exabytes.

The surge in genomic data has significantly opened up new possibilities for medical clinicians and researchers, and has led to an in-depth understanding of genomics and the role of genes in causing or preventing disease.

Sequencing the first human genome took more than 13 years and US$3 billion, completed in 2003. But today this can be done within hours, at a fraction of the cost. Today, there has been a rapid development of genomic data in biobanks that support clinical development. Some of these are purely repositories of data for other parties to access, while others have teams of analysts to compute and analyze. In certain cases, the sequencing data is combined with health and lifestyle information from other sources, including family health histories.

To make the most out of genomic data requires computational technologies and databases to evolve in parallel with sequencing technologies. Both technological advances enable an ever-increasing capacity for precise diagnosis of complex disease and the development of effective and targeted treatment strategies. These technologies also provide opportunities to examine predisposition to disease, potentially encouraging more focused clinical monitoring and lifestyle changes.

Since the amount of genomic data is soaring rapidly, many tech players are betting on genomic data storage systems. In 2014, search engine Google introduced a cloud computing service for companies to store genomic data, called Google Genomics. The company developed an interface, or API, that permits scientists and researchers to move DNA data into its server farms and perform experiments using the same database technology that indexes the Web and tracks billions of Internet users. Microsoft also launched Microsoft Genomics, and genome sequencing giant, Illumina utilizes Amazon Web Services (AWS).