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Genetic mutations arising under stress may be beneficial at the population level
It turns out that mutations are not only inevitable but may be highly desirable and more likely to occur when an organism is under pressure as shown in an experiment involving a highly edited bacteria. While the focus was on these simple life forms, it is not hard to extrapolate to humans.
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Clopidogrel, Stroke, and why genetics is important for Indians now
Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug that helps to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular thrombotic events such as stroke. In 2020 the state of Hawaii successfully sued the makers of clopidogrel for not disclosing that the drug may not be effective at providing anticoagulation against thrombotic events for some people, particularly those of East Asian…
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Hypertension: Shining a light on a stealthy killer in India
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is diagnosed when a person’s blood pressure reading is found to be consistently above the normal range for humans, a value determined to be 130/80 mmHg1 by the American Heart Association (AHA). Yet this chronic disease affecting millions of people worldwide,
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Genetic Insights On Obesity And Body Fat From Diverse Populations
The Maasai people of East Africa, villagers from a small Cretan Mountain, and the Old Amish from Lancaster come from three very disparate and isolated groups far removed from each other. Yet they share a distinct commonality; a much higher tolerance for fat in their diet than the rest of the world!
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Why Rare Diseases In India Matter To All Of Us
Rare Diseases are, by definition, rare. They typically affect less than 1/2000th of the population. Many of them are genetic and caused by mutations in a single gene and over the last two decades, thousands of genes causing many of these disorders have been identified. Rare Diseases are quite different from the more familiar common…
