Data wants your body

01 July 2016 - 09:00 By Bloomberg

Wang Jun spent 16 years expanding the world's understanding of what living things are made of - sequencing genomes including those of the giant panda and potatoes.Now he's attempting to build on that: using DNA as one component to create online avatars that could act as healthcare test dummies for people. Tencent, Asia's biggest internet company, which is 34%-owned by South Africa's Naspers, believes he's onto something."I'm trying to build a crystal ball," Wang, 40, said. "By analysing all the data that we can get our hands on, we will be able to see more clearly to predict what might happen to your body in the future."He has some powerful backers. Tencent, owner of social-media app WeChat, led a $200-million series-A funding round in April and was providing computing power, Wang said. There are two other investors, including a big-data company...

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