GENOME INDIA PROJECT

Prelims level : Biotechnology Mains level : GS-III Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-Technology, Bio-Technology and Issues Relating to Intellectual Property Rights.
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Why in News?

  • Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has cleared the Genome India Project.

About Genome India project:

  • It is funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to sequence at least 10,000 Indian genomes.
  • It has 22 partner organisations including public health institutions will be roped in that have obtained regulatory ethical clearances.
  • The Centre for Brain Research, which is an Autonomousinstitute in the IISc, Bengaluru, will serve as the nodal point of the project.
  • It is a gene-mapping project involving leading institutions including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and a few Indian Institute of Technology (IITs).
  • The first stage of the project will look at samples of 10,000 persons from all over the country to form a grid that will enable the development of a reference genome.
  • Investigators in hospitals will lead the data collection through a simple blood test from participants and the information will be added to bio banks.
  • The Government of India got its inspiration from the Human Genome Project.

Human Genome Project:

  • It was an international research effort to determine the sequence of the human genome and identify the genes that it contains. It was a publicly funded project that ended in 2003.
  • It has revealed that there are probably about 20,500 human genes. This information can be thought of as the basic set of inheritable “instructions” for the development and function of a human being.

Significance of the Project:

  • The diverse genetic pool of India will be mapped and it will help in making Personalised Medicine.
  • Its goal to utilize information about a person’s genes, including his or her nucleotide sequence, to make drugs better and safer.
  • It is helps to enable cost effective genetic tests, carrier screening applications for expectant couples, efficient diagnosis for heritable cancers, pharmacogenetic tests to prevent adverse drug reactions.
  • It will be a hard task considering the population diversity and the disease burden of complex disorders but once the genetic basis is ready it will be possible and easy to take action before the onset of a Disease.
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