Everyone living in Dubai could be genetically tested for killer diseases under radical new plans similar to a Minority Report for doctors.
In an unprecedented move, officials in the desert city have announced they want to create a genome database for its three million residents.
Even British expats living in Dubai, the most populated metropolis in the United Arab Emirates, will be tested to search for disorders before they strike.
This theory was used in Minority Report, a 2002 science fiction film starring Tom Cruise, which saw police use technology to catch criminals before they commit crimes.
The Dubai Health Authority will compile the genetic coding of every resident into a database – which would be the world’s biggest – to search for those at risk.
This theory was used in Minority Report, a 2002 science fiction film starring Tom Cruise, which saw police use technology to catch criminals before they commit crimes
In an unprecedented move, officials in Dubai have announced they want to create a genome database for its three million residents
Artificial intelligence will identify anyone with a genetic profile that is similar to ones of residents with a genetic disease.
Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, director general of the DHA, told the Khaleej Times that the first phase of the project should be done by 2020.
He said: ‘The authority is looking to target all residents of the emirate of Dubai, focusing on UAE nationals in the first phase of implementation.
‘The project’s timetable extends over 24 months, during which we will be collecting samples, analysing DNA sequences, and recording the results in the data bank.’
The DHA warns there are 220 known genetic diseases in the Middle Eastern country, and are responsible for 70 per cent of infant mortality.
Thalassaemia, a deadly blood disorder, is common in the UAE. The country already screens couples before they marry to look for genetic disorders.
The plans, launched as part of the Dubai 10X Initiative, are significantly bigger than any currently underway in the UK.
In contrast, the UK Biobank – considered to be one of the most ambitious projects in the world – aims to sequence only 500,000 Britons.
Fears have repeatedly been raised about what could happen if cyber-hackers were somehow able to retrieve the data.
But it is currently unclear what privacy protections will be put in place in Dubai to protect the data involved in the study, Gizmodo reports.
The move comes just months after a similar law was revoked in Kuwait. It required all residents and travellers to submit samples of their DNA.
But geneticists were up in arms over the ‘Orwellian plan’ and warned it was a breach of privacy, comparing it to filming people in toilets.
Whole genome sequencing – which is what is likely to happen in Dubai – allows researchers to read all the little bits of code that makes someone who they are.
The human genome is composed of more than three billion pairs of building-block molecules and grouped into some 25,000 genes.
It contains the codes and instructions that tell the body how to grow and develop, but flaws in the instructions can lead to disease.
The first decoding of a human genome – completed in 2003 as part of the Human Genome Project – took 15 years and cost £2.15 billion ($3bn).
It has since become widespread and led to dozens of projects, such as the 100,000 Genomes Project, launched former Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012.
Writing in The Times earlier this week about how his late son’s diagnosis with a rare neurological disorder devastated his family, Mr Cameron praised the future of genomic testing.