Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Decoding the script: On the Genome India Project and its sequencing 10,000 Indian genomes

Decoding the script: On the Genome India Project and its sequencing 10,000 Indian genomes

Findings (जाँच - परिणाम) from the genome sequencing must be shared widely (व्यापक रूप से)

The Genome India Project (a project funded and coordinated by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). It is an exercise to create a reference database of 10,000 whole-genome sequences out of India. While India first sequenced a complete human genome in 2006, creating a database that is representative of the diversity of India’s population, is seen as a key step to being able to learn about genetic variants that are unique to India’s population groups and use that to customise drugs and therapies. About 20 institutions across India are involved in the project with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad being the lead institutions coordinating the project), a project funded and coordinated by the Department of Biotechnology, announced that it had finished sequencing 10,000 Indian genomes. This means that the complete genomes — the DNA blueprint (plan, model, template, design, pattern) that constitutes (गठित करना) and maintains human bodies — from 10,000 individuals were analysed to create a ‘reference (संदर्भ)’ Indian human genome. India first sequenced (अनुक्रम) a human genome in 2006. In a way (एक तरह से), the latest enterprise (undertaking, venture, exercise, operation, programme, project) would be akin (similar, related, comparable, equivalent, connected with) to the creation of the first ever detailed map of India — with all political units, key geographical and topographical (स्थलाकृतिक) features (विशेषता) — as opposed to a world map prepared elsewhere, with India just one of several countries and devoid of (से रहित, अभाव) granular (detailed, precise, minute) detail. Are 10,000 individuals representative of a country of over a billion? Surely not. But for now, it is the best there is and forms a vital template, the basis on which many more insights (अंतर्दृष्टि) can be prised. The most immediate application (आवेदन, उपयोग) is in combating disease. In 2009, geneticists in India, as part of an international collaboration, discovered that an aberration (anomaly, deviation, divergence, abnormality, oddity, abnormality, eccentricity) in a protein, MYBPC3 (cardiac myosin binding protein C), was correlated (सहसंबंधित होना, जुड़ना) with a high risk of heart failure. This genetic variant (प्रकार) was present in approximately 4% of those of Indian ancestry (descent, succession, heritage, dynasty, lineage) — a higher than expected number given (दिया गया) that this problematic variant is rare.

India has close to 4,500 population groups and the subcontinent’s (उपमहाद्वीप) history of being ordered (organize, classify, categorize, group) along caste lines through endogamy (the practice of marrying only within a specific family group, caste, ethnic or religious group; inbreeding, self-pollination) implies that rare genetic variants, many harmful, that ordinarily (usually, normally, generally) through the course of evolution (time of development, progress, advance, advancement, progression) ought to have died out, persist (continue, carry on, go on, keep going). When the Human Genome Project published its reference ‘human genome’ in 2003, at a cost of nearly $3 billion, it rang with a ‘brave-new-world (relating to a entirely new condition, particularly one in which there is some doubt about whether it can be good or successful)’ promise of humanity (humankind, the human race, human beings, humans, people) having finally decoded (decipher, figure out, explain, understand, comprehend, interpret) the secrets of the genome, mapping every awry (uneven, lopsided, asymmetrical, off-centre, skewed, misaligned) gene to a disease and a future of ‘personalised medicine (it is an emerging practice of medicine that uses an individual’s genetic profile to guide decisions made in regard to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease)’. Much of Genome India’s sales pitch (a way of talking when attempting to convince someone to buy or accept something) reflects (indicate, show, display, demonstrate, reveal, exhibit) similar promises. However, the subsequent (consecutive, successive, succeeding, following) decades (a period of ten years) have tempered such expectations. For one (a single reason/example given as an important one and almost surely sufficient to influence the argument, of several reasons/examples for something), only a small fraction of disease is monogenic (relating to a single gene) (determined by a single gene). Despite advances in knowledge of how rare, inherited (ancestral , hereditary, familial) genes caused debilitating (weakening, disabling, exhausting, undermining, impairing, paralyzing, immobilizing) disease, little could be done as the necessary medicines, if discovered, were usually too expensive for those in need. In other words, genome sequencing only opened up new realms (arena, sphere, domain, field, territory, area) of complexity. While Genome India should go beyond the 10,000 mark (target), it must also be truly democratic. The findings ought not be locked up in the ivory towers (a place where people are happily separated from the rest of the world and so they have no knowledge or experience of the practical problems of everyday life (e.g. a place of learning like college/university)) of academia (the environment or community in which education and/or research takes place, especially universities, (colleges and schools); the academic world) and should involve imaginative (creative, insightful, resourceful, innovative) collaborations with scientists, students, technology companies, ethicists (A person, particularly a philosopher, who studies ethics (principles governing right and wrong behaviour)) and social scientists to push forward (advance, promote, improve , move forward, press on) India’s understanding of itself.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.sequence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुक्रम
English Meaning - the complete order of compounds/building blocks (nucleotides) of nucleic acids, such as RNA or DNA. The DNA consists of a double-stranded molecule built up by four bases - adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). Every base on one strand pairs with a complementary base on the other strand (A with T and C with G) In all, the genome is made up of approximately 3.05 billion such base pairs. While the sequence or order of base pairs is identical in all humans, compared to that of a mouse or another species, there are differences in the genome of every human being that makes them unique.

2.findings (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जाँच - परिणाम
English Meaning - conclusion arrived at (as a result of an inquiry/investigation).

3.widely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - व्यापक रूप से
English Meaning - publicly, broadly.

4.constitute (verb)

Hindi Meaning - गठित करना
English Meaning - form, shape, make up.

5.reference (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संदर्भ
English Meaning - information source.

6.in a way (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - एक तरह से
English Meaning - to certain degree/extent/level.

7.topographical (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्थलाकृतिक
English Meaning - relating to the physical features, layout, or characteristics (especially the position of its rivers, mountains, etc.) of a particular area.

8.feature (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विशेषता
English Meaning - characteristic, quality, property, aspect.

9.devoid of (noun)

Hindi Meaning - से रहित, अभाव
English Meaning - lacking, without, free of/free from.

10.insight (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अंतर्दृष्टि
English Meaning - awareness, understanding, comprehension, apprehension.

11.application (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आवेदन, उपयोग
English Meaning - use, utilization, implementation.

12.correlate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सहसंबंधित होना, जुड़ना
English Meaning - connect, relate, associate.

13.variant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रकार
English Meaning - different or form or version or mutant of something.

14.given (preposition)

Hindi Meaning - दिया गया
English Meaning - considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.

15.the subcontinent (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उपमहाद्वीप
English Meaning - a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It spans major landmasses from the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

16.decode (verb)

English Meaning - decipher, figure out, explain, understand, comprehend, interpret.

17.genome (noun)

English Meaning - the genetic material (a complete set of DNA, including all of its genes) of an organism. The sum total of the genetic material of a cell or an organism. It is the entire set of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) residing in the nucleus of every cell of each human body. It carries the complete genetic information responsible for the development and functioning of the organism; the DNA blueprint.

18.genome sequence (noun)

English Meaning - The process of deciphering the order of base pairs, to decode the genetic fingerprint of a human is called genome sequencing. it is basically a process that determines the order, or sequence, of the DNA (nucleotides i.e., A, C, G and T) in each of the genes present in the genome.

19.Genome India Project (noun)

English Meaning - a project funded and coordinated by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). It is an exercise to create a reference database of 10,000 whole-genome sequences out of India. While India first sequenced a complete human genome in 2006, creating a database that is representative of the diversity of India’s population, is seen as a key step to being able to learn about genetic variants that are unique to India’s population groups and use that to customise drugs and therapies. About 20 institutions across India are involved in the project with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad being the lead institutions coordinating the project.

20.blueprint (noun)

English Meaning - plan, model, template, design, pattern.

21.enterprise (noun)

English Meaning - undertaking, venture, exercise, operation, programme, project.

22.akin (adjective)

English Meaning - similar, related, comparable, equivalent, connected with.

23.key (adjective)

English Meaning - vital, important, essential, crucial.

24.granular (adjective)

English Meaning - detailed, precise, minute.

25.prise (verb)

English Meaning - obtain something with effort/difficulty.

26.geneticist (noun)

English Meaning - a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms.

27.aberration (noun)

English Meaning - anomaly, deviation, divergence, abnormality, oddity, abnormality, eccentricity.

28.MYBPC3 gene (noun)

English Meaning - it encodes the cardiac isoform of myosin-binding protein C. Myosin-binding protein C is a myosin-associated protein found in the cross-bridge-bearing zone (C region) of A bands in striated muscle. MYBPC3 is expressed exclusively in heart muscle and is a key regulator of cardiac contraction.

29.ancestry (noun)

English Meaning - descent, succession, heritage, dynasty, lineage.

30.order (verb)

English Meaning - organize, classify, categorize, group.

31.endogamy (noun)

English Meaning - the practice of marrying only within a specific family group, caste, ethnic or religious group; inbreeding, self-pollination.

32.imply (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, signify, suggest, denote, point to

33.ordinarily (adverb)

English Meaning - usually, normally, generally.

34.course of evolution (noun)

English Meaning - time of development, progress, advance, advancement, progression.

35.ought to (modal verb)

English Meaning - must, should.

36.die out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - disappear, vanish, fade (away).

37.persist (verb)

English Meaning - continue, carry on, go on, keep going.

38.ring with (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - be filled with a specific quality; reverberate, echo, resound.

39.brave-new-world (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to a entirely new condition, particularly one in which there is some doubt about whether it can be good or successful.

40.humanity (noun)

English Meaning - humankind, the human race, human beings, humans, people.

41.awry (adjective)

English Meaning - uneven, lopsided, asymmetrical, off-centre, skewed, misaligned.

42.personalised medicine (noun)

English Meaning - it is an emerging practice of medicine that uses an individual’s genetic profile to guide decisions made in regard to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.

43.pitch (noun)

English Meaning - a way of talking when attempting to convince someone to buy or accept something.

44.reflect (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, show, display, demonstrate, reveal, exhibit.

45.subsequent (adjective)

English Meaning - consecutive, successive, succeeding, following.

46.decade (noun)

English Meaning - a period of ten years.

47.temper (verb)

English Meaning - moderate, tone down, mitigate, decrease, lessen.

48.for one (phrase)

English Meaning - a single reason/example given as an important one and almost surely sufficient to influence the argument, of several reasons/examples for something.

49.fraction (noun)

English Meaning - tiny amount, small part.

50.monogenic (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to a single gene.

51.inherited (adjective)

English Meaning - ancestral , hereditary, familial.

52.debilitating (adjective)

English Meaning - weakening, disabling, exhausting, undermining, impairing, paralyzing, immobilizing.

53.open up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - disclose, reveal; make/become something available.

54.realm (noun)

English Meaning - arena, sphere, domain, field, territory, area.

55.go beyond (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - exceed, surpass, overtake, transcend; be more than something; to do more than something; to do more than is needed.

56.mark (noun)

English Meaning - target.

57.lock up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - store, secure, seal, confine, put inside.

58.ivory tower (noun)

English Meaning - a place where people are happily separated from the rest of the world and so they have no knowledge or experience of the practical problems of everyday life (e.g. a place of learning like college/university).

59.academia (noun)

English Meaning - the environment or community in which education and/or research takes place, especially universities, (colleges and schools); the academic world.

60.imaginative (adjective)

English Meaning - creative, insightful, resourceful, innovative.

61.ethicist (noun)

English Meaning - A person, particularly a philosopher, who studies ethics (principles governing right and wrong behaviour).

62.push forward (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - advance, promote, improve , move forward, press on.