biobanks

UK Biobank, the large-scale biomedical database holding genetic and health data from around half a million volunteers, is set to reopen access for researchers following a data breach. The breach had prompted a suspension of access while the organisation investigated and strengthened safeguards. Researchers are watching closely for details on what data was exposed and how security has been improved before access resumes.

Researchers have introduced fastGxE, a method for detecting genome-wide genotype-environment interactions at biobank scale, published in Nature. The approach makes it feasible to analyse how genetic effects vary with environmental factors across hundreds of thousands of samples, something previous methods struggled to do efficiently. It is expected to help researchers better understand how genes and environment combine to shape complex traits and disease risk.

UK Biobank is preparing to reopen its research platform after a major data breach. The biomedical database, which holds genetic and health records from around half a million UK participants, had restricted access while the incident was investigated. The planned reopening will be closely watched by researchers and privacy advocates concerned about how the breach occurred and what data was exposed.

Researchers have introduced fastGxE, a computational method that maps how genes and environmental factors interact across a wide range of traits in the UK Biobank. By analysing large-scale biobank data efficiently, the tool aims to reveal how genetic predispositions are shaped by environment, potentially improving understanding of complex diseases and trait variation across populations.