Best genomic apps so far in 2018

Top apps from our online hackathon — GENOME LINK Online Challenge

The beginning of 2018 was a busy time for us. We moved online in search of great developers and great ideas.

Online, we could interact with and discover developers beyond the Bay Area. Developers also had 3 months — instead of the 2 days typical of an in-person hackathon — to think through their app comprehensively and polish their work. The downside? It was an agonizing 3 months waiting for the submission deadline to come by so we could try out the genomic apps!

Don’t get us wrong — we loved the intimacy, intensity, and intellectual stimulation we experienced in our in-person Hackathons in San Francisco and Berkeley, CA. We also made some lasting friendships with developers and are grateful for their continuous support for our api and developer community beyond the hackathons.

Develop an original DNA-personalized app using GENOME LINK API.

The app must be creative, polished, and readily implementable in the real world. The challenge is user-centric in that it emphasizes how users will interact with and gain information from engaging with your app.

Cash prizes totaling $10000! 🤑

The 19(!) apps submitted covered the cross between genomics and many existing industries or applications available today, ranging from AI, nutrition, fitness, online dating, social networks, HR to IoT.

Notably, the most successful apps all provided great user experience and contributed to either educating the user about personal genomics or providing actionable insights based on the information obtained from their DNA data. Fun, interactive, and actionable were common themes.

This smart nutrition app packaged as a Facebook bot can help you manage not just your macronutrient (proteins, carbohydrates, fats) diet, but also the more oft-neglected micronutrients — trace amount of vitamins and minerals necessary to sustain good health.

The amount of micronutrients each person needs is influenced by your genetic tendency to retain each micronutrient in your bloodstream. Vita Geneome will give you a personalized nutrition plan based on your unique genetic profile.

It can read nutrition labels, or you can simply enter the item you’re thinking of consuming. This is a handy tool to help you figure out which micronutrients are most important to feed your body.

What stood out most for us was that it allows users to readily access nutrition information on a daily basis, whenever and wherever they need, on an interface that most people were already familiar with (Facebook Messenger).

Employing AI in genomics is a recent trend popular in academia and large-scale genomic data analysis initiatives. This AI x Genomics app, however, is much more consumer-friendly.

The Genome AI Assistant chatbot introduces the information available from your genome in easily digestible chunks. It’s no secret that information available to consumers on genomics has been rampant with misinformation, exaggerated claims, or even contradictions — causing much confusion. This chatbot offers a educational approach to understanding personal genomics , in a fun and low-risked environment — a much-needed angle to genomic technology.

A dating app based on genetic profile — but more. Usually genetic dating apps run into sticky ethical issues like discrimination or eugenics. However, GenXY chose to focus their genetic personalization not just on the “matching”, but on the substance of the actual “date” ie. date ideas.

Coming up with a date idea that will impress your date and both of you will enjoy is difficult!

They took this very real problem, and made it fun. Integrating with the content generation platform Flybits, date ideas are produced based on surveying the similarities and dissimilarities of the matches’ genetic traits (personality and other).

What stood out for us: they spun a fun DNA-personalization twist out of an already spectacular technology platform.

And that’s a wrap for this edition of our GENOME LINK Online Challenge!

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