Issue (WIWE) status: Submitted, Unpublished

Wild Card's progress: Basic

This Wild Card came from: 
European Commission Framework Programme for RTD

The theme/scheme related to this Wild Card: 
Theme 6 - Environment (including Climate Change)

The sub-theme that best relates to this Wild Card: 
Environment and health

Wild Card's description: 

This wild card consists on the use of genetic biomarkers to detect gene-environment interactions and map geographical areas where the risk of environment-associated diseases is high (risk areas). It is known that the environment has some effects on the health state of individuals. Some pollutants for example originate genetic mutations that are at the origin of some types of cancer, but the interactions gene-environment, are not well known. Advances in genetic technologies, systems biology and their combination with bioinformatic tools, may develop devices (biochips) able to measure an array of genes susceptible to mutate due to environmental factors. This would enable the assessment of the risk of individuals to live in certain environments and map the areas where the risk of suffering environment-associated diseases is high (risk areas) and other areas where this risk is minor (safe areas).