Short notes
Genetic imprints in human disease, genetic screening, genetic counseling, human DNA profiling, gene mapping and genome study.
Genetic Imprints In Human Disease
Definition
Medical Genetics: It is the standard method for understanding the inheritance patterns of Mendelian disorders such as Huntington’s disease, Sickle-cell anemia, and Thalassemia.
Example / case study
- Male fruit flies’ Y chromosomes die; females (XX) survive.
Thinkers
- Radcliffe-Brown: Used genealogies to reconstruct descent groups and social structure in Africa.
- Malinowski: Used them to understand kinship and land inheritance among the Trobriand Islanders.
- Claude Lévi-Strauss: Used genealogical/kinship data to develop Alliance Theory, focusing on marriage and exchange between lineages.
- India: S.C. Roy documented Oraon genealogies; Irawati Karve used genealogical mapping to study village kinship and exogamy in Maharashtra.: Applications of Pedigree Analysis.
Genetic Screening
Definition
PRADAN: works with govt., promotes SHGs for sustainable livelihoods.
Example / case study
- Male fruit flies’ Y chromosomes die; females (XX) survive.
Genetic Counseling
Definition
Biological anthropology studies human evolution, heredity, variation and adaptation using scientific methods, while recognising the influence of culture on biology.
Example / case study
- Lactase persistence → long-term milk consumption in pastoral populations → selection for lactose tolerance.
- Thus, biological anthropology connects genetic evolution with culturally created dietary practices.
- DNA profiling for crime scene investigations.
- Victim identification during large-scale disasters.
Thinkers
- Malinowski: Used them to understand kinship and land inheritance among the Trobriand Islanders.
- Claude Lévi-Strauss: Used genealogical/kinship data to develop Alliance Theory, focusing on marriage and exchange between lineages.
- India: S.C. Roy documented Oraon genealogies; Irawati Karve used genealogical mapping to study village kinship and exogamy in Maharashtra.
Human Dna Profiling
Definition
DNA profiling for crime scene investigations.
Example / case study
- Male fruit flies’ Y chromosomes die; females (XX) survive.
Gene Mapping
Definition
Based on linkage studies and recombination frequency.
Example / case study
- Male fruit flies’ Y chromosomes die; females (XX) survive.
- If recombinant frequency = 0.76 → distance = 76 cM.
Genome Study
Definition
DNA profiling for crime scene investigations.
Example / case study
- Male fruit flies’ Y chromosomes die; females (XX) survive.
- If recombinant frequency = 0.76 → distance = 76 cM.