Google's mixed messaging about its healthcare plans

Once again, Google has captured the news cycle with the announcement of an ambitious, health-focused project. But although Google's health portfolio continues to grow, its handful of health projects are still little more than pet projects to the search giant. As reported last week by The Wall Street Journal, the Google Baseline study will use a combination of genetic testing and digital health sensors to collect "baseline" data on healthy people. The idea is to establish genetic biomarkers relating to "how [patients] metabolize food, nutrients and drugs, how fast their hearts beat under stress and how chemical reactions change the behavior of their genes."