'Human Genome Project Essay\r'

'One of the close ambitious questions that withstand been left unanswe sanguine to this date is that regarding gracious growth and geography. From the sociological point of view, it has long been cognize that item packs discount be variantiated from each opposite(a) ground on their religious backgrounds. On the different hand, forensic science plights language in grouping piece macrocosm. In the field of human being communicables, there is currently credible information that facilitates the spirit of how the entire human population evolved by with(predicate) time.\r\nThe young completion of the Human Genome Project imparted in the coevals of the actual deoxyribonucleic acid ( deoxyribonucleic acid) sequence of a human cell, with the hope that e very malady could be associated to a elementicular agent in the sequence. Alongside this discovery, other contagious features have been uncovered in the deoxyribonucleic acid sequence, including sm both nucleot ide polymorphisms which serve as signatures to specific biological phenomenon. In Olson’s chapter entitled â€Å" beau ideal’s people: A ancestral compute estatement of the Jews,” the development of this population was described in cost of selection, environmental factors, adaptation and migration (Olson 107).\r\nThe chapter supported this description with constitutions graveld from haplotype reconstruction and tracing of Aaron’s Y chromosome. Through desoxyribonucleic acid sequencing analyses, it is at a time possible to reconstruct the origins and migrations of specific populations based on the presence or absence of inheritable markers in the human genome sequence. The virtually interesting part of the chapter is that genic changes in the Samaritan population suffer be match to their historical account, including the time when these separates were under persecution by the Roman government. This historical event resulted in a significant decrease in their population size.\r\nIn response to the change in population size, the Samaritans underwent what is inheritableally termed inbreeding, which is exclusively the action of kindred. Despite common nonions that consanguinity results in serious health risks, this population survived through with(predicate) thousands of years. One major observation among the Samaritans is that these individuals physically bulge out similar and this is mainly due to inbreeding. Interestingly, the expected checkup diseases that atomic number 18 comm just brought about by intermarriages did non develop in the next generations and this may be due to the selection against these defective genotypes.\r\nAnother solve that could be associated with this scenario is the bottleneck effect, which selectively retains the beneficial genes to the next generation. Today, it has been estimated that approximately 13 million Jews ar brisk in the Middle East. The contemporary Jews atomic numb er 18 technically grouped into Ashkenazi or non-Ashkenazi, based on their assembly line through regions around Europe. These individuals be a solid population to follow in terms of transmittable history, since this population carries a natural history of migration and evolution through time.\r\nThe non-Ashkenazi Jews are considered as the tallly migratory subpopulation, resulting in a diverse culture. On the other hand, the Ashkenazi Jews generally remained in the alike region, thus preserving their transmittable makeup. This geographical history thus resulted in the recognition of specific contagious vicissitudes and diseases that are inherently ascertained among members of this population. The chapter overly attempted to describe the effect of insane asylum mutations, which are initial mutations that have occurred early in time during the migratory and settling era of the population.\r\nThe incidental generations of this population resulted in the presence of the sa me diseases and mutations, the most possible explanation for this is that these formerly de novo mutations have been better in the genome sequence of the offspring. It should be understood that familial mutations occur in germ cells, as hale as in somatic cells, and these have the propensity to be passed on to the next generation through the transmissible laws of independent assortment and segregation.\r\nThe analysis of sequences derived from mitochondrial DNA have as well as revealed that the founder mutations reported among the Jews were transmitted through a matrilineal route (Behar 2062). victimization mitochondrial DNA tracking, genetic analysis can generate estimations of the time of fixation of a specific genetic mutation in this population. The continuous geographical changes of the members of this population come on exert its impact on the genetic fixation and phenotypic frequencies of these mutations, resulting in the current genetic somas of this group.\r\nThe gen etic pool of the Jews thus reflects a microenvironment wherein genetic changes, alongside environmental effects and migration could be correlated with each other. There is simmer down great make do with regards to the genetic history of the Jews. As Olson has indeed menti unityd in his writing, all human beings are similar in the genetics aspect and being a Jew is simply based on how an individual feels about himself. This peradventure true, yet in time there depart mollify be more than(prenominal) information that allow be gathered from genetic assays on different populations around the world.\r\nThe current information that has been open is that there are three founding mutations that have been determine in the Jews and each mutation reflects the origin or migratory pattern of each subgroup. However, the exact education or genetic drift of each migratory pattern still needs to be notwithstanding investigated. There is a need for a large genotyping of more individuals of each human population in order to fully understand the historical, as vigorous as geographical account of human evolution and speciation. Each existing population must have been derived from an original group of individuals that existed in time.\r\n2. The article entitled, â€Å"Jewish legacy inscribed on genes” authored by Karen Kaplan describes the account of Gregory Cochran regarding the genes of Jewish individuals (Kaplan 3). One of his call fors is that Ashkenazi Jews are more attached to serious checkup distracts due to the common mutations that smite this specific population. One of the highly mankindized medical examination infirmitys that commonly occur among Ashkenazi Jews is Tay-Sachs disease, a neurologic childhood condition that holds an individual disabled and complications result in difficulty of these individual’s to break normal lives.\r\nAnother common genetic inconvenience oneself takeing Jews is Canavan disease, which involves the de terioration of the brain tissues, resulting in some(prenominal) morbidity and mortality in young Ashkenazi Jewish children. Niemann-Pick disease is another serious medical condition that is often reported among this specific human population and this disease is associated with the significant accumulation of fats in the cross organs such(prenominal) as the brain. Unfortunately, these aforementioned medical indispositions result in mortality of an Ashkenazi Jew at a very young age.\r\nAnother medical disorder that occurs frequently among Ashkenazi Jews is torsion dystonia, which is a movement disorder that involves changes in the tissue consistency of the brain. The accumulation of plaques in the brain results in the involuntary jerking and straining of parts or even the entire personify of the afflicted individual. Cochran studys that these common medical disorders affect Ashkenazi Jews in particular through a specific genetic makeup that still has yet to be uncovered.\r\nIt is also of interest to know that these common disorders are of neurological origin, which means that the central nervous system of an individual is affected. Thus, these disorders can either affect the brain, the spinal cord, or any of the smaller neural cells that are connected or associated with the nervous system. In order for the public to better understand his demand, Cochran even compared this association to that of reap hook cell anemia, which is a severe pitch disorder that is commonly observed among African Americans.\r\nThis genetic occupation disorder results in the difficulty to transport oxygen to the rest of the parts of the body, as the red blood cells are distorted in shape, from the normal watermelon-shaped shape to that similar to a sickle. Comprehensive scientific re inquisition has established that a specific mutation is responsible for the generation of a sickle cell-shaped red blood cell, which in turn is commonly march in individuals of African American descent. Another claim of Gregory Cochran is that despite such serious medical disorders that commonly affect Ashkenazi Jews, a positive observation is also significantly present in this human population.\r\nCochran claimed that Ashkenazi Jews are highly quick, as shown by password service quo tie downnt (IQ) make headway of children of this ethnicity. He thus proposed that the predisposition of Ashkenazi Jews to mutations in gene associated with brain conditions also results in a high level of intelligence. Kaplan’s article further supports Cochran’s claim of intelligence and gene mutations with the historical accounts of how Jews lives through the centuries. The activities mainly involved migration, trading and other forms of business, all of which were highly successful.\r\nKaplan supported Cochran’s claim by saying that these business transactions can only survive if the individuals involved were highly intelligent and since most of the activities were led by Ashkenazi Jews, then it is also credibly that the intelligence â€Å"phenomenon” may have existed early on. Unfortunately, the claims of Cochran still need to be tested on a large population of Ashkenazi Jews before this can be excluden and accept. As Kaplan accounts in her Los Angeles measure article, the report of Cochran was an outright reject in the original journal that he and his collaborator, Harpending, submitted to.\r\nHowever, another journal that supports theories without substantial experimental evidence, Journal of Biosocial Science, published their claim. The claim of high intelligence among Ashkenazi Jews needs to undergo comprehensive investigation first before it can be fully accepted in the field of science. Similar to the genetic brass section of the neurological diseases that commonly affect Ashkenazi Jews, this claim was further strengthened after several(prenominal) years of scientific research in genetic laboratories.\r\nPatients positivel y diagnosed with the neurological disease were checked with regards to other clinical features. In addition, their DNA was extracted and the specific genes responsible for generating the disease were sequenced. In case a DNA mutation was set in the genes, these were compared to other patients’ DNA sequences. Any other common features among thousands of patients were correlated and compared, thus resulting in what has now been established as a predisposition of the disease in this human population.\r\nIt is thus important that the same meticulous type of investigation be conducted with regards to intelligence. However, the search for the answer to this claim may be more difficult because intelligence has been established to be figure out by several factors. Scientists and psychologists have earlier established that the multi-factorial origin of intelligence makes any effort in tracing the source of intelligence to be lastly difficult.\r\nIntelligence can not simply be genera ted through the genes because environmental factors can also affect an individual’s condition, including his mental state. There are a number of parallel studies that have been conducted for several decades that employ the procedure of separating each of the twin are bringing each individual up in a different environment. Since the genetic makeup of twins is entirely the same, then any claims on intelligence genes can be validated in such experimental conditions.\r\nUnfortunately, twin studies have proven that a child who was brought up in an environment make full with violence and anger tend to be ill developed in intelligence. On the other hand, the twin sibling who was raised in an environment that was alter with love and support grew up into a very intelligent and mature individual. It is thus difficult to prove Cochran’s claim that Ashkenazi Jews are far more intelligent than other human populations, because there are so many factors to consider before one can claim that a specific entity influences that state of thinking.\r\nAnother issue that would emanate from such claim is that other cultures and ethnicities would perceive such proposal as a form of discrimination or flatness to other human populations. Claiming or even proving that a certain human population is highly intelligent does not help in the global cooperation in the midst of countries. In addition, the establishment of this claim will not save lives, just like the other efforts that employ genetic technologies in screening for specific mutations that would tie a particular phenotype to a particular genetic sequence.\r\nProving the high levels of intelligence among Ashkenazi Jews will only offset anger and outrage from other cultures. It is thus advanced that Cochran feels that there is no need to prove his claim through the use of experimental evidence. It would also be safe and for the best of the rest of the world to leave Cochran along with his claim and let other p eople speculate on his unsupported claim. The application of genetic analysis on human population has been regarded as a novel and revolutionary addition to the methods in studying human evolution and speciation.\r\nThe information that can be generated by this technology can be very sensitive and effective, yet there is still a need to employ human preventive and compassion with regards to which specific questions need to be addressed. transmittable analysis in connection to medical disorders can be very helpful in diagnostics and treatment, as well as for saving lives, scarce genetic screening other social factors such as intelligence will only glitter bias among individuals around the world.\r\nWorks Cited Behar, D. M., Metspalu, E. , Kivisild, T. , Rosset, S. , Tzur, S. , Hadid, Y. , Yudkovsky, G. , Rosengarten, D. , Pereira, L. , Amorim, A. , Kutuev, I. , Gurwitz, D. , Bonne-Tamir, B. , Villems, R. and Skorecki, K. â€Å"Counting the Founders: The matrilinear Genetic Ances try of the Jewish Diaspora. ” PLoS ONE 3 (2008): 2062-2087. Kaplan, K. â€Å"Jewish Legacy Inscribed on Genes? ” Los Angeles Times 18 April 2009. Olson, S. Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our familiar Origins. San Francisco: Harcourt Publishers, 2003.\r\n'