Genographic Project
Genographics is a multi year based project designed to mark the history of man on earth and his voyage to the present time. The project integrates the use of complicated laboratory and computer processes to investigate the DNA. Due to this real time research, it will be possible to fill the gaps left by science. The fossil records fix that human roots come from Africa, where our ancient ancestors lived about 60,000 years ago. But we don’t know that how we came to the present place and how we got different color and features. All this happened by genes and mutations in the genetic makeup brought the present change in appearance.
Human life and society is the product of biological transformations. During this transformation of DNA from generation to generation, most of the DNA is recombined and gives us individuality but some part of the DNA remains intact. The part that remained intact creates a link between us and our ancestors. The clues provided by these genetic markers provide the migration pattern of the past. The project provides us with deep understanding of the biological make up and framework of the human being.
The results of the project provide us the same biological basis of human life. But it is very crucial to take the genetic sample of the people who are indigenous and isolated from the rest of the world. When their samples will be taken, then the picture of human ancestry will be clearer. The project is intended to approach those distinct people whose culture and languages are different. The threat poised by the globalization is that this distinct people are vanishing due to amalgamation of cultures and languages.
The project has started Genographic Legacy Fund to empower the traditional and indigenous people who wish to revive their communities on local level but they don’t have resources to do so. The project’s fund is intended to provide awareness about challenges faced by these vanishing communities at the global level. It will help the whole human kind work for the common purpose that is there own. In this way the project impacts the development of the society for the common good.
Personal genomics is a branch of individual genomics which genotypes and analyzes the individual genomes by the use of bio-informative tools. While genographics is a database which is designed for visual reasoning with genomic data. Such modern branches of knowledge and advanced techniques will be used in drawing the blueprints of human journey.
The ethical issue raised by personal genomics is genetic discrimination i-e discriminating on basis of an individual genome. The project is largely criticized on the ground that it will hurt the centuries old believes of people about their cultures and ancestors. Land rights will also be endangered which could jeopardize the peace around the globe. Researchers can use the sample to advance their own theories. The project is also criticized on the grounds of risks involved with persons.
These criticisms are right but I justify the Genographics project on the biological and social grounds. The aim of the project is the social well-being in the sense of creating awareness of the distinct cultures and people. There will be many social benefits by knowing the biological background. To me, the negative impacts of the project are less appealing to criticize it progress. Knowing the paths to the common root of humanity will be a positive step in the human success. The ethical check and balances can nullify the negative impacts if there will be any.
