Google, Heart Association team up on new research venture

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A company whose name is synonymous with eyeballs on the Internet is turning its attention to hearts.

Google Life Sciences, a research group recently spun off from its parent corporation, is teaming with the American Heart Association in a $50 million project to find new ways to fight heart disease.

The heart association's half, $25 million over five years, is the largest single research investment in its history.

For the Google group, its latest biomedical venture will join projects that include whiz-bang devices such as driverless cars, contact lenses that monitor blood sugar for diabetics and health-tracking wristbands.

The project was announced Sunday at a heart association conference in Orlando.