The organization we love to hate, Autism Speaks, teamed up with Google to create the largest genome database for autism on June 10, 2014. This was originally called AUT10k. It stands for Autism Speaks 10,000 Genomes. This project will cost $50 million. The system they use to store it is Autism Genome Research Exchange.
What is MSSNG?
“MSSNG (pronounced ‘missing’) is groundbreaking collaboration between Autism Speaks Verily, DNAstack, Hospital for Sick Children, and the research community to create the world’s largest whole genome sequencing database on autism with deep phenotyping.”
In order to add someone’s DNA to this database, there is an online application called Genetics System Application.
The MSSNG database was built using the Google Cloud Platform and Google Genomics. They intend to make its data as useful and widely accessible to researchers as possible. This is how Spectrum 10k got their hands on a lot of their DNA.
Autism Speaks partnered with Google so Google would store this database on their cloud platform. Autism Speaks has the largest private collection of DNA samples from autistic people. There are over 12,000 samples with detailed phenotyping. Phenotyping is observing the characteristics of an individual based on their genome. Observing people based on their DNA makeup. It helps with classifying genetic material
MSSNG does whole genome sequencing of the blood DNA of 11,500+ individuals from families from the Autism Genetic Research Exchange (AGRE).
“This is a really exciting time for us,” said Rob Ring, who was Chief Science Office for Autism Speaks at the time. He also said that without Google, the project would not have been possible. “The goal is to build an open-access database for the entire research community.”
“This is as secure as it gets,” Ring said. “The important thing is that the data has been identified,” with names and other personal information stripped out, he claimed and researchers who will be using it will have to agree with certain terms of use.
A complete human genome contains close to 25,000 genes and it takes up 100 gigabytes of space. This is the same storage as 10 HD movies when uploaded to a computer. Storing and analyzing that much data and sharing it is more than most universities and research institutions can handle. Google partnered with Autism Speaks to give them the power of a cloud platform.
The People Responsible
Stephen Scherer- SickKids Hospital and University of Toronto
David Galzer-Verily
Marc Flume- DNAstack
Dean Hartley- Autism Speaks
AGRE
The Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) is a genetic material bank that stores data and biomaterials from over 2000 families. Most families who have two or more autistic children have participated. It was started in 1997. It was because of AGRE, a lot of Autism Speaks research studies.
In 1997 Cure Autism Now (CAN) foundation established AGRE as a shared resource to accelerate the pace of biological research in autism research. One goal was to create a centralized repository of the latest findings in genetics that would help researchers worldwide.
In 2007, CAN merged with Autism Speaks. This made AGRE part of Autism Speaks.
AGRE is the largest private, open-access repository of clinical and genetic information dedicated to helping autism research, not autistic people.
Over the course of 10 years, AGRE has collected most of its data in the participant’s homes. They no longer collect data in homes.
They now call themselves a Data Coordinating Center (DCC). With this title, AGRE plans to expand its resource by collaborating with research institutions that are working directly with families who have autistic children. They get their DNA from MSSNG.
The Autistic Perspective
Why not invest in services that actually benefit autistic people?
But what are these terms? Nobody knows. They cannot give specific regulations on how they handle the DNA samples. DNA is a violation of privacy. This also raises the alarm for informed consent. The parents and families have consented but they do not know who will have access to their loved ones genetic material and who will be using it for what purpose. They do not disclose what privacy protections that were in place for this project. It is still not available, five years later. Due to the project being online, any researcher could have access to any person’s DNA. There is no protection against commercial use. Anyone can use this information for any purpose. No one will be informed when their DNA is used. We are people too.
“This announcement represents an unprecedented intersection of business, science, and philanthropy that will drastically accelerate the pace of autism research,” Bob Wright co-founder of the hate group, “The insight and expertise the Google team brings to the table is unmatched. Utilizing Google Cloud Platform further advances Autism Speaks’ commitment to advancing cutting-edge science.”
“Modern biology has become a data-limited science. Modern computing can remove those limits,” David Glazer, engineering director for Google Genomics, “We are excited … about the opportunity for Google Cloud Platform to help unlock causes and treatments of autism.”
The only reason to study genetics is to practice eugenics. Eugenics is the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it fell into disfavor only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis. Eugenics was a significant part of Hitler’s Final Solution.
This was launched in corroboration with the Hospital For Sick Children’s Centre and Applied Genomes Project in Toronto.
Since when are autistic people sick? We do well in this world with the proper support. They need to stop trying to get rid of us. They are seeking to wipe us from this planet. They decide who is worthy of having dignity and who is not. The families are not involved with this. They sign consent to find the “autism genome” and that is it. No further information about this project is given.
“The Autism Speaks AUT10K Program is a remarkable achievement,” Dr. Steve Scherer, director of the Center and who will be the director of AUT10K, “The collaboration between a pioneering tech company and the foremost autism science organization has the potential to transform the autism research landscape in exceptional ways. No other organization outside of major health institutions and academia has accomplished this much this quickly.”
This was later renamed the MSSNG project. The vowels are missing because they say they have missing information. If they listen to autistics, maybe their information would be whole.
UPDATE:
New article came out in April of 2021. There has been an enourmous backlacklash about MSSNG on Twitter. The current data is on 11,312 different people. THis includes 5,102 autistic people and 6,079 allistic people. There is a PDF that can be downloaded of the project’s website. The website says this data will be shared widely with researchers for “identification of many subtypes of autism.”
There was a tweet on March 30th by @AnarchistMemeCo with a screenshot of tweets
fuck google and fuck autism speaks pic.twitter.com/3nzcgyQjkt
— Anarchist Meme Collective Ⓐ ☭ 🏴🧱🏳️⚧️💣 🔻✊ (@AnarchistMemeCo) March 30, 2021
This post triggered other autistic people to speak out. This post has gotten a lot of attention, as it should!
No, the Nazis preferred to just kill autistic people.
— alexwyz (@NullenM) March 30, 2021
As the community has been saying since its inception, this was created because neurotypical people who do not accept autistic people stigmatize autism and want everyone to be neurologically the same.
Sources:
https://www.autismspeaks.org/agre-for-families
https://mcp.bs.jhmi.edu/what-phenotyping-0
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-to-help-build-worlds-largest-genomic-database-on-autism/
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/mssng-project-partnership-autism-speaks-google-autism-research/story?id=27460433
https://www.newsweek.com/autism-speaks-partnering-google-cure-autism-sparks-backlash-1580272https://www.cnbc.com/2014/11/06/can-google-find-the-cure-for-autism.html
Aviva Seigler 
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