Homeland Security has collected DNA data from 1.5 million immigrants in four years, researchers find
ICE Collecting DNA Samples
ICE's DNA collection program projects detainee samples to reach 33% of CODIS offender index by 2030, raising privacy concerns.
A Schneier on Security blog post discusses ICE collecting DNA samples from detainees, citing Georgetown Law research. DHS detainee samples are projected to constitute 33% of the FBI's CODIS offender index in 2030, up from 0.2% in 2019. The post raises concerns that samples collected under civil authority are being searched against crime scenes indefinitely, potentially without legal cause under Fourth Amendment standards.
Deepmind's AlphaGenome Atlas maps every possible DNA change in the human genome
DeepMind's AlphaGenome Atlas precomputes impact predictions for ~9 billion human DNA variants in a 1-petabyte dataset; its AVI score beats CADD in benchmarks
Google DeepMind released the AlphaGenome Atlas, precomputing functional-effect predictions for roughly 9 billion human genome variants (about 27,000 prediction values per variant) in a one-petabyte dataset more than 30 times the size of the AlphaFold database. The accompanying AlphaGenome Variant Impact Score (AVI), a small neural network combining AlphaGenome, AlphaMissense and evolutionary conservation features (18 inputs versus CADD's 150+), outperformed existing tools on clinically classified variants, ranking causal variants in the top 50 candidates for 29.5% of solved GREGoR cases versus 12.5% for CADD. A GREGoR epilepsy case illustrates the impact: AVI elevated a previously unclear DNM1 splice variant that lab experiments confirmed as likely disease-causing. The atlas is available for noncommercial use via web portal, API and a Google Antigravity skill, with a commercial version planned through Google Cloud.
Google DeepMind Releases AlphaGenome Atlas With Precomputed Molecular Effect Predictions and AVI Scores for 9 Billion Human DNA Variants
Google DeepMind launched AlphaGenome Atlas, precomputing molecular effect predictions and AVI impact scores for ~9 billion human single-nucleotide variants in a 1-petabyte catalogue.
Google DeepMind released AlphaGenome Atlas, a 1-petabyte catalogue of precomputed molecular effect predictions for roughly 9 billion possible single-nucleotide variants in the human genome. It introduces the AlphaGenome Variant Impact (AVI) score, combining AlphaGenome regulatory predictions with AlphaMissense, plus per-variant feature attributions and over 2,500 recurrent DNA sequence motifs. DeepMind reports best-in-class AVI performance on variant pathogenicity and rare disease benchmarks. Early users at the Broad Institute, University of Exeter, and Stowers Institute demonstrated rare-disease variant reprioritization and 22% more non-coding associations across 54,000+ UK Biobank genomes.