One minute read.

The Indian government, through a gene mapping project is going to study the genes of Indians. This is to be done to find  any common diseases shared by people having similar genes. It will help in the study of diseases in Indians. The project is called Genome India Project.

What is a genome?

Let’s start with one question . What’s the one thing common between you and a bear or a bee?

Answer – We all are made of DNA and Genes!

That’s confusing. What is a DNA?

DNA are building blocks of life and they are found in Genomes. They have all the information that helps make and build any organism. Humans are said to have more than 3 billion DNA pairs. Genes are passed on from our parents to us. Genes are the common factors we share with our parents, grandparents and even their parents. (For further understanding , a video link has been attached to the end of this article.)

Have human genes been mapped ?

Yes! Human genome mapping project which began in 1990 gave us new knowledge on how each human is built from within. This inward journey into a human body helped understand each human being’s similarities and differences on the basis of their genes.

What is the Genome India project ?

Through this project, scientists will understand the common health problems that are passed on from  ancestors of Indian’s to the people of today . The government will collect samples of thousands of Indian’s genes  to study the similarity and differences in them that will help us know how to cure many medical problems.

They will also collect a base gene pool of Indians for further research in medicine. For example if people of Rajasthan have a certain type of common disease found in their genes then the government can help cure it through this research.

What is interesting about gene mapping Indians?

Indians are said to have come first from Africa but people from all over the world continued to settle in India because of which genes of different races and types of people have been exchanged . Later on people from different races, tribes and cultures married each other creating a unique mixture of genes. This project will help us know the variety of genes of Indian’s today along with finding out any harmful disease.

Here’s a great video that explains what genes are really well: