Apple Plans To Dissect Your Genes With The iPhone, Says a New Report

iPhone might become a new tool in genetic studies. According to a new report, the Cupertino-based company is collaborating with U.S. researchers to launch apps that would offer some iPhone owners the chance to get their DNA tested.

Citing people familiar with the matter, MIT Technology Review reported that apps are based on ResearchKit, a software platform Apple introduced in March that helps hospitals or scientists run medical studies on iPhones by collecting data from the devices' sensors or through surveys.

The report mentioned that two initial studies are planned; one being held at an advanced gene-sequencing center at the University of California, San Francisco and other at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Google already has a large genome project, while other large tech companies and even U.S. government are also trying to get in on the action of creating huge databases of gene information in hopes of finding clues to causes of disease, Cult of Mac reported.

The study planned by UCSF will try to determine causes of premature birth by combining gene tests with data from expectant mothers.

Reportedly, the studies instead looking at the person's entire genome, will only focus at 100 or fewer medically important disease genes, costing us only few hundred dollars.