I have become very interested in genetic algorithms or GAs (which are not necessarily related in any way to genetics or genomics; see link). This algorithmic method of searching is very well-suited to large datasets. There are Open Source projects like the Encog Machine Learning Framework that implement GAs. Wikipedia also makes claims about the wide range of fields that GAs have been applied to,
"Genetic algorithms find application in bioinformatics, phylogenetics, computational science, engineering, economics, chemistry, manufacturing, mathematics, physics, pharmacometrics and other fields."
I am wondering if there have been any studies that have applied GAs to Open Data. Manufacturing datasets are available on the Data.gov website, and I'm sure there are datasets out there somewhere for each of those other fields. I realize that not all research publications can be accessed for free, but I'm happy with just abstractions or summaries of projects.
Have any studies applied GAs to Open Data? If so, please provide pointers to them in your answer.