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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2020/Paper I/Applied & Forensic Anthropology
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper I 2020 15 Marks Model Answer Available

Human Genomic Research in Human Welfare — 2020 Paper I

Question · 2020 · Paper I · 15 Marks

What are the applications of human genomic research in human welfare ?

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Explain the major applications of human genomic research for health, disease prevention and wider human welfare.
  • Structuring the Response: Cover diagnosis, precision medicine, pharmacogenomics, population health and ancestry, followed by ethical concerns.

Model Answer

Introduction

Human genomic research studies the structure, variation and functioning of the human genome. Developments following the Human Genome Project have enabled genomic information to be increasingly applied to disease diagnosis, preventive medicine, population health and understanding human biological diversity.

Applications in human welfare

  1. Diagnosis of genetic disorders: Genomic analysis can identify pathogenic variants responsible for monogenic disorders such as:
    • thalassaemia;
    • sickle-cell disease;
    • cystic fibrosis;
    • several metabolic disorders.

Early diagnosis facilitates timely clinical management and genetic counselling.

  1. Carrier screening: Identification of carriers can help families understand the probability of transmitting recessive disorders.

Genomic screening → Risk identification → Counselling → Informed reproductive decision

  1. Precision medicine: Genomic variation helps identify why individuals differ in:
    • disease susceptibility;
    • disease progression;
    • response to treatment.

Treatment can therefore increasingly be tailored to individual biological characteristics.

  1. Pharmacogenomics: Genetic differences influence drug metabolism and effectiveness. Genomic information can help:
    • select appropriate drugs;
    • determine dosage;
    • reduce adverse drug reactions.
  2. Cancer genomics: Tumour sequencing can identify mutations driving particular cancers and assist selection of targeted therapies.
  3. Rare diseases: Whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing are especially useful where conventional diagnostic approaches fail to identify the cause of rare disorders.
  4. Population health: Population genomic databases can identify the distribution of disease-associated variants and assist in designing targeted screening programmes.
  5. Infectious diseases: Host genomic variation can influence susceptibility, immune response and severity of infectious diseases, contributing to better understanding of differential vulnerability.
  6. Human evolution and adaptation: Genomics has illuminated:
    • population migrations;
    • genetic admixture;
    • adaptation to altitude, diet and disease;
    • Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry.

These findings help explain contemporary patterns of biological variation.

Anthropological significance

Genomic research shows that human variation is largely continuous, overlapping and population-based, undermining older typological concepts of biological race.

It also permits integration of:

Genetics + Environment + Culture + Lifestyle → Biocultural health

Ethical concerns

Applications must address:

  • informed consent;
  • genetic privacy;
  • discrimination;
  • unequal access to genomic medicine;
  • ownership of genomic data;
  • misuse of ancestry information;
  • stigmatization of communities.

Genomic findings should not be interpreted in a genetically deterministic manner because most complex conditions reflect interaction between genes and environment.

Conclusion

Human genomic research can enhance welfare through early diagnosis, precision medicine, disease prevention and better understanding of population health. Its benefits, however, depend on equitable access and strong safeguards for privacy, consent and non-discrimination.

2026 Health as a cultural construct. 2026 What is meant by a somatotype? Discuss the Heath-Carter anthropometric method, giving its advantages over that of Sheldon's method. How can somatotyping be applied in sports sciences? 2026 Anthropometry in ergonomics. 2025 Examine the utility of human remains in forensic analysis. Discuss the facial reconstruction technique.

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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2020 — Paper I

28 questions

5(d) Ethics and Genetic engineering

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 12. Applications of Anthropology > Applied human genetics and eugenics
2020Paper IApplied & Forensic AnthropologyModel answer available

5(c) Experiential Ethnography

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 8.1 Research Methods > Fieldwork tradition and ethnography
2020Paper IResearch Methods in AnthropologyModel answer available

5(b) Genetic drift

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 9.3 Mendelian population and Hardy-Weinberg law > Genetic drift
2020Paper IHuman Genetics & Human BiologyModel answer available

1(a) Natufian culture

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(b) Cultural Evolution: broad outlines of prehistoric cultures > Mesolithic > Natufian
2020Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

5(a) Racism and Eugenics

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 9.5 Race and racism > Racial differentiation; eugenics
2020Paper IHuman Genetics & Human BiologyModel answer available

1(b) Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 7. Culture, language and communication > Language and thought
2020Paper ICulture & SocietyModel answer available

5(e) Senescence

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 10. Human growth and development > Ageing and senescence
2020Paper IHuman Genetics & Human BiologyModel answer available

1(d) Victor Turner and Liminality

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 6. Anthropological Theories > Symbolic Anthropology > Turner; liminality
2020Paper IAnthropological TheoriesModel answer available