Don’t panic: the coronavirus and what you can do

Cumulative cases of COVID-19 (2020-03-15) Source: Johns Hopkins
Please check link for updated data

A mild cough, a fever… nothing to worry about right? Just bit of flu. Except that these are the same initial symptoms of COVID-19, the official name of the disease causing the current coronavirus epidemic. Because it looks so much like other common diseases, COVID-19 can go undetected, spreading gently across the world.

Would you get your genome sequenced?

The Human Genome Project (HGP) was completed in 2003, giving us insight into the impact of genetics on the functioning – and malfunctioning – of a human being. As the technology advances, sequencing someone’s genome has become more and more affordable – down from 100 million USD in 2001 to “just” 1000 USD in 2015. New technologies have also made smaller sequencing projects feasible, to the level where it could soon become an integral part of the public health system.