{"id":56553,"date":"2020-03-04T15:12:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T09:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?page_id=56553"},"modified":"2020-03-04T15:12:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T09:42:55","slug":"answered-what-is-indias-genome-mapping-project-discuss-its-significance-and-potential-benefits","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answered-what-is-indias-genome-mapping-project-discuss-its-significance-and-potential-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"[Answered] What is India\u2019s genome mapping project? Discuss its significance and potential benefits."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n Demand of the question<\/strong>\n Introduction.\n <\/strong>Contextual introduction.\n Body.\n <\/strong>Discuss significance and potential benefits of\n human genome sequencing. Mention various challenges.\n Conclusion.\n <\/strong>Way forward.\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

India\u2019s Genome Project is a government-funded\nproject to sequence more than a thousand individuals from diverse ethnicities\nto create a genome database for India. The Genome India\nProject, a collaboration of 20 institutions including the Indian Institute of\nScience and some IITs, will enable new efficiencies in medicine, agriculture\nand the life sciences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significance\nand potential benefits of human genome sequencing:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Healthcare:<\/strong> Participants of\ngenome-sample collections represent diversity of the country\u2019s population. It\nwill help in following ways:<\/li>
  2. Personalised Medicine: <\/strong>The first obvious use would be in personalised\nmedicine, anticipating diseases and modulating treatment according to the\ngenome of patients. Several diseases develop through the interplay of the\nenvironment with multiple genes, which differ across populations.<\/li>
  3. Determining gene-disease link: <\/strong>Human genome sequencing is important to establish a link between diseases and the unique genetic make-up of each individual. For\ninstance, cardiovascular disease generally leads to heart attacks in South\nAsians. If such propensities can be mapped to variations across genomes, it is\nbelieved public health interventions can be targeted better. <\/li>
  4. Better understanding of diseases\nlike cancer: <\/strong>While genes may render some insensitive to certain drugs,\ngenome sequencing has shown that cancer too can be understood from the\nviewpoint of genetics, rather than being seen as a disease of certain organs.<\/li>
  5. Drug efficacy: <\/strong>Another advantage of genome sequencing is that information\nregarding drug efficacy or adverse effects of drug use can be obtained. Drugs\ndeveloped in the Western world and sold in India are pricey and may not be\neffective on the Indian gene. Mapping of India’s genetic landscape is critical\nfor next generation medicine.<\/li>
  6. Agricultural usage: <\/strong>It will enhance\nIndia\u2019s scientific capabilities.Next\nstep would be genome mapping of crops that would help in better understanding\nof the genetic basis of susceptibility of crops to blights, rusts and pests. It\nmay become possible to deter them genetically, and reduce dependence on\nchemicals.<\/li>
  7. Evolutionary studies: <\/strong>Global science\nwould also benefit from a mapping project, which would provide data useful for\nthe mapping of the spread and migration of a range of life forms in the old\nWorld and thus would help in better understanding of human evolution.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Challenges\nand issues related to genome sequencing:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Accuracy: <\/strong>How accurately and reliably\ngenome sequencing measures genome variants is a big challenge.<\/li>
    2. Use of genetic information: <\/strong>The role of\nmost of the genes in the human genome is still unknown or incompletely\nunderstood. Further, most physicians are not trained in how to interpret\ngenomic data. Therefore, a lot of the information found in a human genome\nsequence is unusable at present. <\/li>
    3. Regulation: <\/strong>The volume of information\ncontained in a genome sequence is vast. Policies and security measures to\nmaintain the privacy and safety of this information are still new. India today\nhas only loose regulations for this budding field. The Indian Council\nof Medical Research, the apex body that regulates clinical trials in India, has\nno specific guidelines to govern genetic testing laboratories.<\/li>
    4. Medical ethics:<\/strong> The introduction of\nwhole genome sequencing may have ethical implications. Genetic testing has\npotential downsides such as genetic discrimination, loss of anonymity, and\npsychological impacts.<\/li>
    5. Data and storage:<\/strong> After collection of\nthe sample, anonymity of the data and questions of its possible use and misuse\nwould need to be addressed. Companies have access to sensitive personal\ninformation, which could be hacked or sold to third parties without\nparticipants\u2019 consent. India is yet to pass a Data Privacy Bill with\nadequate safeguards. Launching a Genome India Project before the privacy\nquestion is settled could give rise to another set of problems.<\/li>
    6. Social issues:<\/strong> The question of heredity\nand racial purity has obsessed civilisations, and more scientific studies of\ngenes and classifying them could reinforce stereotypes and allow for politics\nand history to acquire a racial twist.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Way\nforward: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Training: <\/strong>It is important to train more clinicians for gene data\ninterpretation and rope in more labs for sequencing. Training more physicians\nto study medical genetics for speedier analysis is needed.<\/li>
      2. Data security:<\/strong> Given the sensitivity of genomic data, every effort must\nbe made to minimise the likelihood of data breaches and to maintain public\ntrust in institutions that gather, store and use such data. A practical and\nfeasible solution to build such a reliable and safe database is the application\nof blockchain technology to secure genomic data.<\/li>
      3. Effective policy: <\/strong>There is a need for a comprehensive and effective policy to\nguide the use of genomic information, with significant emphasis on protecting\nthe privacy of research subjects. One way to make this possible is through\n\u2018dynamic consent\u2019 by which people who wish to participate in a research project\ncan register themselves and provide consent on an ongoing basis. <\/li>
      4. Collaborative effort: <\/strong>A collaborative and harmonised efforts is needed\nto balance sharing of genomic data with an individuals\u2019 privacy. A framework\nmust be designed transparent enough to specify the purpose of the collected\ngenomic data and the duration for which it will be stored in the database.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Given the benefits of genome sequencing, it\nwill help in better understanding of the human body and processes and will help\nin treating earlier untreatable diseases. Although there are some issues and\nchallenges, these can be handled and resolved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Demand of the question Introduction. Contextual introduction. Body. Discuss significance and potential benefits of human genome sequencing. Mention various challenges. Conclusion. Way forward. India\u2019s Genome Project is a government-funded project to sequence more than a thousand individuals from diverse ethnicities to create a genome database for India. The Genome India Project, a collaboration of 20 institutions including the Indian Institute of Science… Continue reading [Answered] What is India\u2019s genome mapping project? Discuss its significance and potential benefits.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-56553","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}