The Human Genome Project: Advantages and Disadvantages

The Human Genome Project: Advantages and Disadvantages The Human Genome Project was an international research effort to determine the sequence of the human genome and identify the genes that it contains. After the idea was picked up in 1984 by the US government when the planning started, the project formally began in 1990 and was completed in 2003, 2 years ahead of its original schedule. The Project was coordinated by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional contributors included universities across the United States and international partners in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and China. Goals The main goals of the Human Genome Project were to provide a complete and accurate sequence of the 3 billion DNA base pairs that make up the human genome and to find all of the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 human genes. The sequence would act as a template for the annotation of genes discovered in the future: if a geneticist found a novel gene that increases the risk for breast cancer, for instance, she should be able to decipher its precise location and sequence by mapping it to the master sequence of the human genome. By comparing abnormal genes to the normal genes in the template, the geneticist would be able to map the mutation responsible for causing the disease. Benefits The potential benefit of a comprehensive sequencing effort was highlighted by the isolation of disease-linked genes such as Huntingtons disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and the most common breast-cancer-associated gene, BRCA1. The one-gene-at-a-time approach was very inefficient and laborious. It only worked for monogenic diseases. But most common human diseases are genomic polygenic diseases caused by multiple genes spread diffusely throughout the human genome. Cancer and mental illnesses are examples of genomic diseases. Public versus Private Approaches In 1998, a similar, privately funded quest was launched by the American researcher Craig Venter, and his firm Celera Genomics. Venter was a scientist at the NIH during the early 1990s when the project was initiated. The $300,000,000 Celera effort was intended to proceed at a faster pace and at a fraction of the cost of the roughly $3 billion publicly funded project. Celera used a technique called whole genome shotgun sequencing, employing pairwise end sequencing, which had been used to sequence bacterial genomes of up to six million base pairs in length, but not for anything nearly as large as the three billion base pair human genome. Celera initially announced that it would seek patent protection on only 200-300 genes, but later amended this to seeking intellectual property protection on fully-characterized important structures amounting to 100-300 targets. The firm eventually filed preliminary (place-holder) patent applications on 6,500 whole or partial genes. Celera also promised to publish their findings in accordance with the terms of the 1996 Bermuda Statement, by releasing new data annually (the HGP released its new data daily), although, unlike the publicly funded project, they would not permit free redistribution or scientific use of the data. Ultimately, Celera afreed to provide free access to academic researchers but with several important constraints. Although a working draft was announced on June 26, 2000 (jointly by U.S. President Bill Clinton and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair), it was not until February 2001 that Celera and the HGP scientists published details of their drafts. These drafts covered about 83% of the genome (90% of the euchromatic regions with 150,000 gaps and the order and orientation of many segments not yet established). In February 2001, at the time of the joint publications, press releases announced that the project had been completed by both groups. Improved drafts were announced in 2003 and 2005, filling in to approximately 92% of the sequence currently. The Book of Man It has 3,088,286,401 letters of DNA It is divided into twenty-three pairs of chromosomes. All other apes have twenty-four pairs. It encodes about 20,687 genes in total only 1,796 more than worms, and 12,000 fewer than corn. It is fiercely inventive. Gene regulation and gene splicing are used more extensively in the human genome than in the genome of other organisms. It squeezes complexity out of simplicity, produces near-infinite functional variations out of its limited repertoire. It is dynamic. In some cells, it reshuffles its own sequence to make novel variant of itself. Parts of it are surprisingly beautiful. An enormous proportion (about 98%) is not dedicated to genes per se, but to enormous stretches of DNA that are interspersed between genes (intergenic DNA) or within genes (introns). These stretches encode no RNA, and no protein. It is encrusted with history. It has repeated elements that appear frequently. It has enormous gene family genes that resemble each other and perform similar functions which often cluster together. It contains thousands of pseudogenes genes that were once functional but ahve become nonfunctional, ie, they give rise to no protein or RNA. It accommodates enough variation to make each one of us distinct, but enough consistency to make each of us different from other species. Its first gene, on chromosome one, encodes a protein that senses smell in the nose. Its last gene, on chromosome X, encodes a protein that modulates the interaction between cells of the immune system. The ends of its chromosomes are marked with telomeres. Like the little bits of plastic at the ends of shoelaces, these sequences of DNA are designed to protect the chromosomes from fraying and degenerating. Although we fully understand the genetic code ie how the information in a single gene is used to build protein we comprehend virtually nothing of the genomic code ie, how multiple genes spead across the human genome coordinaet gene expression in space and time to build, maintain, and repair a human organism It imprints and erases chemical marks on itself in response to alterations in its environment thereby encoding a form of cellular memory. It is poised to evolute. It is littered with the debris of its past. Gandhi: The Hindu-Muslim Gap Gandhi: The Hindu-Muslim Gap Introduction The opening years of the twentieth century were stormy. That was the time when the greatest catastrophe of history took place. The political scenario was undergoing a change. The British were beginning to feel a bit uneasy. Discontentment was brewing. Political discontent was growing due to the inability of the government to organize effective relief during the period of plague and famine. In order to stem the discontent, the British played the political trump card with great aplomb. For the first time, they used their divide-and-rule political game with great force. From 1870 onwards, the British started inciting the Hindus and the Muslims to form their own political parties to establish their distinct religious identities. That was perhaps, the beginning of the communalisation of politics. The British not only encouraged the two communities to form political parties along religious lines, they took various constructive steps to create a situation whereby Hindus and Muslims would be forced to think in a way as if their religious identity is at peril. This effort culminated in the partition of Bengal in 1905. The partition was made along communal lines. The British had realized that a united India was a strong India and thus they decided to separate Hindus and Muslims, the major population of India. As a result India would not be united and would remain weak. The British continued this strategy of divide and rule and finally India was divided. This policy left a deep impact on the Indians, the communal hatred between Hindus and Muslim is still prevalent and has taken a major form. This has resulted in many riots and caused major harm to life and property. Revolt of 1857 The British East India Company came to India as traders but slowly took over the rule in India and in no time the whole of India was under the British rule. India was the largest and the most important colony of Britain. They made immense profits in their rule, but they treated Indians as an inferior race. Indians were tortured and treated like slaves, they were forced to grow Indigo and as a result the cottage industries suffered a heavy setback. Slowly over a period of time Indians realized about their rights and got to know about nationalism. They also fought for freedom in numerous revolts, but all of them were crushed as the Indians were not united. Some of the famous revolts were the Santhal Rebellion, Indigo revolts and many more. These small revolts took shape of a national movement and emerged in the form of the revolt of 1857 https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif The greatest and the most widespread armed uprising which shook the foundations of the British rule in India was the Revolt Of 1857.The accumulating hatred against British rule which had resulted in numerous, though localized, outbreaks burst in a mighty rebellion in 1857.The dispossessed rulers of Indian states, the nobles and the zamindars who had been deprived of their lands, the Indian soldiers of Britains army in India and the vast masses of peasants, artisans and the others who had been ruined by British economic policies and had been rising up in revolts in their isolated pockets, were now united by the common aim of overthrowing British rule. The introduction of greases cartridges which showed the British rulers complete disregard of the religious beliefs of the Indian people provided the immediate cause of the revolt. The soldiers killed the British officers and marched to Delhi. They conquered Delhi and proclaimed the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the emperor of India. The rebellion spread like wild fire and the British rule ceased to exist over a vast part of Northern and Central India for many months. The major centres of the revolt, besides Delhi, where some of the fiercest battles were fought were Kanpur, Lukhnow, Bareilly and Bundelkhand. This victory was short-lived as British reconquered the states and Indian rule was back in the hands of the British. The revolt was over and now the power had been transferred from the British East India Company to the British Crown. The Queen had decided herself to take care of the Indian politics as she had realized that the conditions had become far worse than expectations. Many promises were made to the Indians regarding their welfare under the Queens Proclamation, but hardly any were followed. The conditions had not improved and the same tactics were used in a minor form. Rise of Indian Nationalism Nationalism is a sentiment based on common cultural characteristics that binds a population and often produces a policy of national independence or separatism. It involves the feeling of oneness and brotherhood for your own countrymen. The growth of Indian nationalism started in the nineteenth century. Political unification of India, fall of Indias old social and economic system, the beginning of modern trade and industry and the rise of new social classes laid the basis of nationalism. The social and religious reform movements and popular anti-British revolts contributed to the growth of nationalism. The farmers were suffering under the new land tenure systems introduced by the British government. The Indian industrialists were sad because of the economic policy of the British government. All import duties on cotton textiles were removed in 1882, which harmed the textile industry. The people of India became aware of the fact that the development of their country was not possible unless British rule was ended. There was a series of famines, which took a toll of millions of human lives, due to the indifference of the autocratic British administration. Indian Nationalism was broadly divided into three phases Moderate phase Radical phase Gandhian phase The Moderates advocated and used methods of Constitutional agitation for demanding reforms. They had faith in British and thought that the British would agree to their demands. They considered British just and kind. Some of the famous leaders were Dada Bhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Surendranath Bannerjee The Aggressive Nationalists had no faith in British rule, they thought that India could not progress under the British rule and freedom was necessary for their development. They believed that this could only be done by adopting aggressive methods. Some of the important leaders were Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra pal and Aurobindo Ghosh The Gandhian Phase was led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi; he devised the methods of Ahimsa (non-violence) and Satyagraha (insistence on truth) to attain independence. He converted the Indian freedom struggle into a mass movement; Gandhiji played a very important role in the independence of India. Partition of Bengal The decision took effect the Partition of Bengal was announced in July 1905 by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. The partition took effect in October 1905 and separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas. The reason behind the partition that was officially announced was that the Bengal province was too large to be administered by a single governor and therefore was partitioned on administrative purpose. But the real reason behind the partition was political and not administrative. East Bengal was dominated by the Muslims and West Bengal by the Hindus. Partition was yet another part of the Divide and rule policy. Indians were outraged at what they recognise as a divide and rule policy, where the colonisers turned the native population against itself in order to rule. This partition provided an impetus to the religious divide and rule, as a result of that, All India Muslim League and All India Hindu Mahasabha was formed. Both the organisations aimed at fanning communal passions. Muslim League The All-India Muslim League was a political party during the period of the British Rule which advocated the creation of a separate Muslim-majority nation. Being a political party to secure the interests of the Muslim diaspora in British India, the Muslim League played a decisive role during the 1940s in the Indian independence movement and developed into the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state in the Indian subcontinent. Muslim League was a political organization of India and Pakistan, founded 1906 as the All-India Muslim League by Aga Khan III. Its original purpose was to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in India. By 1940, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it had gained such power that, for the first time, it demanded the establishment of a Muslim state (Pakistan), despite the opposition of the Indian National Congress. During World War II the Congress was banned, but the League, which supported the British war effort, was allowed to function and gained strength. It won nearly the entire Muslim vote in the elections of 1946. The following year saw the division of the Indian subcontinent and the Muslim League became the major political party of newly formed Pakistan. By 1953, however, dissensions within the League had led to the formation of several different political parties Hindu Mahasabha Separate Electorates Separate electorate is a system of election to legislatures which divides voters along the lines of their religion or ethnicity; designed to ensure that each religious or ethnic group can elect their own representatives. In the case of separate electorates, the voting population of a country or region is divided into different electorates, based on certain factors such as religion, caste, gender, and occupation. Here, members of each electorate votes only to elect representatives for their electorate. It was used in India, prior to Independence, to guarantee representation for religious minorities. Separate electorates have been criticized as socially divisive, and for privileging one aspect of social identity above all others. In Indias pre-independence era, when the Muslims in India demanded fair representation in power-sharing with the British government along with the Hindus, the British government provided for a separate electorate system for the Muslims. As a result, of the total 250 seats of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, 117 seats were kept reserved for the Muslims. Efforts of Gandhi to bridge Hindu Muslim Gap One of the greatest contributions of Mahatma Gandhi was his unparalleled attempt at Hindu- Muslim Unity. Although he could not accomplish this task at the end still he fought for its realisation throughout his life. His always said Even if I am killed, I will not give up repeating the names of Ram and Rahim, which mean to me the same God. With these names on my lips, I will die cheerfully. He believed all religions to be true but not fallible. To Gandhiji Hindu-Muslim unity means unity not only between Hindu and Muslims but also between all those who believe India to be their home, no matter to what faith they belong. He believed that it was a criminal to quarrel over trivialities. Gandhiji knew that India could not attain freedom without Hindu Muslim unity, so he worked for the cause. To attain freedom India had to be united as one nation, they had to fight together for a common cause. He realized this and took advantage of this in the Khilafat issue. The Khilafat movement (1919-1924) was a pan-Islamic, political protest campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I. The position of Caliph was in danger and Ottoman Empire existence was short-lived, but the Caliph was the religious representative of the Muslims so they decided to launch a movement against the British. The Khilafat Movement was launched under the Ali Brothers, Gandhiji decided to support this movement to win the support of Muslims. Gandhiji thus strived for Hindu Muslim unity and considered Muslims as his brothers. Hindu Muslim rivalry would cause partition of India which would result in a weak India, this was exactly what the British wanted. They wanted a weak and divided India as it would be easy to govern it. This partition would result in various riots and bloodshed, it would result in a divided India, thus Gandhiji was against the partition from the start Mountbatten Plan The actual division of British India between the two new dominions was accomplished according to what has come to be known as the 3 June Plan or Mountbatten Plan. Lord Mountbatten worked out a detailed plan for the transfer of power to the Indian people. It was announced at a press conference by Mountbatten on 4 June 1947, when the date of independence was also announced 15 August 1947. The plans main points were: Hindus and Muslims in Punjab and Bengal legislative assemblies would meet and vote for partition. If a simple majority of either group wanted partition, then these provinces would be divided. Sindh was to take its own decision. The fate of North West Frontier Province and Sylhet district of Bengal was to be decided by a referendum. India would be independent by 15 August 1947. The separate independence of Bengal also ruled out. A boundary commission to be set up in case of partition. The Indian political leaders accepted the Plan on 2 June. It did not deal with the question of the princely states, but on 3 June Mountbatten advised them against remaining independent and urged them to join one of the two new dominions (India or Pakistan). Rioting The British conquest of India was accompanied by large-scale violence, sometimes directed toward the Indian civilian population. During the colonial wars of conquest, there were mass killings, but few are remembered. Violence between Hindus and Muslims is one of the most publicized features of colonial Indias history. Some, particularly Indian historian Gyan Pandey, hold that its characterization as violence between religious communities was invented by colonial administrators in the 19th century, and that it misrepresented forms of violence which were in fact extremely complex. Others see in it a faithful reflection of the actual crystallization of communitarian identities based on religion, in response to certain colonial policies. Whichever is the case, Hindu-Muslim riots became a permanent feature of the Indian political scene in the first half of the twentieth century. The main reason for these riots were the divide and rule policy which had instigated everything. These riots we re hindrance in Indias independence because they made India weak and this is what the British wanted. If India was weak then their rule would become even stronger, as a result India was divided and Hindu Muslim riots are still prevalent. Finally Partition of India The British had laid their roots long ago, now the Hindu Muslim rivalry had become severe and Partition of India now could not be stopped. The partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics. This led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan (later the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh) and the Union of India (later Republic of India) which took place in 1947, on 14 and 15 August, respectively. The partition of India was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the Indian Empire and the end of the British Raj. With the decision in favour of partition made, the parties next faced this nearly impossible task of fixing a border between the new states. The Muslims occupied two main regions in the north on opposite sides of the country, separated by a majority-Hindu section. In addition, throughout most of northern India members of the two religions were mixed together not to mention populations of Sikhs, Christians and other minority faiths. The Sikhs campaigned for a nation of their own, but their appeal was denied. On August 14, 1947, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was founded.