What is the “1000 Genomes Project”?
§ Scientists working for The 1,000 Genomes
Project have decoded the genomes of more than 1,000 people from 14
ethnic global groups. It is the largest and most detailed compilation of
human DNA variations, to track origin of rare and common diseases.
§ Launched in January 2008
§ An international research effort to establish by
far the most detailed catalogue of human genetic variation.
§ The project has generated raw information to the
tune of 180 terabytes. All of the information is freely available on internet.
§ The sequencing of 1092 genomes was announced in a Nature
publication in October 2012.
How would this project help?
§ The project would help in tracing genetic origins
of diseases in populations around the globe.
As per scientists, genetic composition of any two
people is 99 % same, it varies by 1% or less. This 1% or less
contains the rare variantswhich are thought to contribute to rare
diseases as well as common conditions like cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Deeper understanding over rare variants may also explain why some medications
are not effective in certain people or cause side-effects such as nausea,
vomiting, insomnia and sometimes even heart problems or death. As per
scientists, most rare variants differ from one population to another, and that
they developed recently in human evolutionary history, after populations in
Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas diverged from a single group.
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