How to Hide Your Genome
Science, February 2014As the cost of genetic sequencing plummets, experts believe our genomes will help doctors detect diseases and save lives. But not all of us are comfortable releasing our biological blueprints into the world. Now cryptologists are perfecting a new privacy tool that turns genetic information into a secure yet functional format. Called homomorphic encryption and presented here today at the annual meeting of AAAS (which publishes Science) the method could help keep genomes private even as genetic testing shifts to cheap online cloud services.
Featured on Slashdot and in the print edition of Science.