The UAE has gathered the genetic data of more than 800,000 Emiratis under a nationwide drive to use precision medicine to combat disease before it strikes and protect the health of citizens for generations to come.
The Emirati Genome Programme – launched in Abu Dhabi in 2019 before being expanded across the Emirates – is making significant strides in its goal of cracking the genetic code of the Emirati population of about 1 million citizens as new partnerships are forged to help harness the vast data resources at the nation's disposal.
Samples can be given voluntarily at dozens of collection centres – primarily in hospitals and clinics – across all seven emirates. The information provided is strictly confidential and cannot be accessed without the consent of the participant.
The latest figures of 815,000 samples, announced at Abu Dhabi Global Health Week, mark a significant rise on the 600,000 which had been collected as of June last year.
The project is being led by Abu Dhabi's Department of Health with support with other health authorities and providers, including health technology company M42.
M42 has joined forces with leading biotech company Juvenescence to fast-track the discovery of precision drugs in a way that targets disease before symptoms appear.
Targeted health care
“What we’re pivoting towards is precision medicine, early detection and prevention, and that comes through the wealth of the data sets that we have,” Dr Fahed Al Marzooqi, chief executive of M42’s integrated health solutions platform and acting chief executive of M42’s AI life sciences platform, told The National.
He said the healthcare sector was traditionally “reactive”, intervening only after an individual falls sick or is diagnosed with an illness, but the data provided by the genome project opens doors to a new era of health care.
“[The data] gives us a wealth of information about you as a person, about your clinical journals,” he said. “So imagine a scenario where you have a newborn, which means that you detect the disease, sometimes even before it develops. So this gives us an idea about prediction, about prevention, and we can precisely talk about precision. Part of the definition of precision medicine is delivering the correct drugs.
“M42 strategically investing in Juvenescence, a global leader in the domain of cutting-edge AI and biotechnology, means they can analyse insights from the data and hopefully find the targets needed, but then from that, we’ll discover a product.”
Exploring root causes of disease
Genome sequencing can help diagnose conditions caused by changes in the DNA.
It is hoped that cancers and other inherited diseases such as sickle-cell anaemia could be controlled thanks to such medical advances.
Hereditary cancer accounts for about 10 per cent of cases of the disease worldwide.
Hereditary breast and ovarian cancers originate from specific gene mutations called BRCA1 and/or BRCA2. A simple test can show if a woman carries these genes.
The risk of inheriting a gene mutation increases in the case of consanguineous marriages, which is where second cousins, or closer, marry.
The Emirates Genome Council – established in 2021 – studied 50,000 genetic samples from Emiratis and found more than five million novel gene variants.
Journey of discovery
The M42 partnership is part of a broader push mission to make Abu Dhabi a life sciences innovation hub.
However, creating a new drug takes time and deep co-ordination between sectors.
“Drug discovery is a long journey,” Dr Al Marzooqi said. “Conventionally, it demands roughly anywhere from 15 to 25 years where you discover, let’s say, the chemical agents that you interact with different proteins in your body. After that, you have a pre-clinical stage.
“Then from that, you have the human stage, where you conduct phase one, phase two, obviously and when you complete the trials to make sure that the drug that you will use tomorrow is safe first and doesn’t have any and actually treats what it takes to be treated.
“So companies, biotechs, with the use of AI can accelerate that journey, to shrink that journey down.
“We are in the first stages now, where we have the curated data sets, and now we will start to embark on a journey with the Department of Health to analyse the data, identifying the targets, identifying the lead and then, as I explained, the journey goes.”
Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, managing director and group chief executive at M42, said: “With this investment and partnership, M42 is taking great strides in reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s push as a global nexus for AI-enabled therapeutics and biomedical innovation to tackle local and international health challenges. With Juvenescence, we are unlocking the potential of AI to transform the way we discover and deliver drugs, bringing innovative, life-changing therapies to patients worldwide.
“This is not just about innovation, it’s about impact – on lives, on science and on the future of health.”
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
The years Ramadan fell in May
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
SPEC%20SHEET
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Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
HOW TO WATCH
Facebook: TheNationalNews
Twitter: @thenationalnews
Instagram: @thenationalnews.com
TikTok: @thenationalnews
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Company%20Profile
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Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
