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back to article Google stretches tentacles into the health market

Google is extending its tentacles further into the health space with the announcement of Tom Insel, director of the US National Institute of Mental Health, as senior researcher to its Google Life Sciences unit. It is the second major appointment to be recently announced by the newly renamed mega corporate entity Alphabet in …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Healthcare systems, check.

    …Larry, what's the status on the Three Mile Island thing? Only this and the wheel bearing acquisition, and the Alpha Centauri project is good to go."

    1 0 Reply
  2. Thecowking

    All I could see

    Was that the poor guy grew up with the inital and name "T.Insel"

    I bet he had hell come Christmas, who does that to their children?

    6 0 Reply
  3. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    Or...

    He said he was joining the Google Life Sciences (GLS), sorry... Alphabet, team to discover technology that can help with earlier detection, better prevention and more effective management of serious health conditions such as those that don't yet know their A to Z's, sorry... Alphabet.

    0 0 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    you wanted treatment for....

    ....your scatoma, did you mean scotoma? here is a list of local opticians

    4 0 Reply
  5. TitterYeNot

    He added this was an opportunity...

    "...to make an impact on "psychosis, mood disorders, and autism".

    "We'll begin trialling the new technology as soon as possible," he said, "starting with our own senior management team..."

    3 0 Reply
  6. Erik4872

    New 60s/70s style conglomerate?

    It must be a nice problem to have -- Google, Apple and the like are generating so much free cash that they have no idea how to put it to use. So, I guess their board thinks the best thing to do is diversify.

    It was a little before my time, but I do know my corporate history. Whenever this happens and they don't want to give the shareholders a dividend, companies used to go out and buy or start unrelated businesses. That's how GE became a bank and bought a TV network, and how ITT was in the hotel business for a while and runs a crappy technical school chain. Seriously, Google Life Sciences? I guess I see the Big Data angle -- all those customers walking around with Android health monitors -er- smartphones.

    1 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: New 60s/70s style conglomerate?

      So, I guess their board thinks the best thing to do is diversify.

      Yes, but along the same, well trodden and very successful lines. After you have managed to scrape all personal secrets out of people's email and web behaviour, what have you as yet NOT managed to spy on?

      Exactly. There's bucketloads of revenue in accessing people's medical data, and the best way to make that happen is to position yourself inside healthcare. So it's not really about using all that money for something sensible (because that would run counter to healthy US capitalism), it's about getting their grubby hands on more data for more profit which is pretty much business as usual.

      0 0 Reply
  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A company that makes their money on advertising

    wants to have anything to do with my health information? Hell no!

    0 0 Reply

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