Immerse Education Essay Winner – Anay Gupta
February 8, 2022
Anay Gupta, a student of Grade 10, has won a partial scholarship of 10% to take part in summer programs at Oxford, Cambridge and LSE through the Immerse Education Essay Competition 2022.
The Immerse Education Essay Competition provides students aged between 13 and 18 with the opportunity to submit essays related to their chosen subject. Anay presented his essay with ‘Do humans own their own genetic information?’ as the prompt.
Anay’s essay stood out amongst the other entries by bringing forward well formulated and clearly expressed thoughts on his chosen subject. We are proud of your achievement, Anay. Best of luck for all future endeavours!
IMMERSE ESSAY COMPETITION
Question: Do Humans own their own genetic information?
Subject: Biology
Age Group: 16-18 years
THE ESSAY:
It is accepted worldwide that apes, who lived on trees, were the modern man’s ancestors. The traits of those precursor apes were passed on from generation-to-generation, as they kept on reproducing. There is limited evidence on how they and the other early humans did the same, but that evidence suggests that they, like the modern-day humans, underwent the procedure of coitus. One plaque from the Çatalhöyük archaeological site, on its one side depicted two such prehistoric figures embracing each other and that very plaque displayed a mother and her child on its other side. Certain variations are seen in these traits so-passed, which, in actuality are the causes of remarkable differences between the apes and the modern man.
These genetic variations are corollaries of changes within the genome – the genetic part and inter genetic spaces (chromosomes inclusive) of individuals. There can be additions and deletions of genetic components, which can change a large segment of the DNA macromolecule. Nucleotides (recurring units of DNA) of the chromosomes passed on by the parent can undergo point mutation, in which, a single pair of the nitrogenous bases is altered. That particular nucleotide can end up getting deleted, or being replaced in position with another nucleotide. Inversion and Translocations of Chromosomes are other examples of such genomic changes.
An inversion occurs when a chromosome breaks in two places, after which, the resulting piece of DNA is reversed and re-inserted into the chromosome. Genetic material may or may not be lost as a result of the chromosomal breakage. A translocation occurs when a piece of one chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome. Unbalance during translocation can cause gain and loss of genetic material, causing variations. These variations occur in such a manner that the progeny become more suited for survival, and has some genetic advantage, causing human evolution to continue on the path of life. The principle of “the survival of the fittest”, originating from the Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, is seen. This axiom helps us to understand better how the leaf-eating primitive apes, who lived on trees, were replaced on the planet by the modern man. It certainly states that the offspring has reproductive benefits, which in itself is responsible for mankind’s development.
To sum up, we, as humans, have genetic information, which is both- partially ours and someone else’s. We can be given the credit to be the “owners” of our own chromosomal constitution, because the changes, to which it was subject, always take place within us. These changes are different for every human, through which, the genetic constitution varies among each person, making him unique. Our ancestry, though, should also relinquish the title of such “owners”, because it is their features, which, in spite of changing almost completely, are endemic to our body.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITE LINKS
Ku, C., Loy, E., Salim, A. et al. The discovery of human genetic variations and their use as disease markers: past, present and future. J Hum Genet 55, 403–415 (2010).
https://doi.org/10.1038/jhg.2010.55
National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. “Can changes in the structure of chromosomes affect health and development?”. Last updated and Reviewed: 10th May 2021 https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/mutationsanddisorders/structuralchanges/
National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health. “How are gene variants involved in evolution?”. Last updated and reviewed: 5th August, 2021.
https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/mutationsanddisorders/evolution/
National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. “Point Mutation”. 20 October,2009.
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Point-Mutation
ONLINE DICTIONARY: Oxford University Press, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 2JD, United Kingdom. “The Oxford English Dictionary”. 2021.
https://languages.oup.com/research/oxford-english-dictionary/
The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. “How Did Humans Figure out that Sex Makes Babies.” 10 January, 2013.
https://slate.com/technology/2013/01/when-did-humans-realize-sex-makes-babies-evolution-of reproductive-consciousness-of-the-cause-of-pregnancy.html
BOOKS
Vishnoi, H.S; Fernandez, Mary; Srivastava, Preeti; Selina Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 4725/21-A, Dayanand Marg, Daryaganj, New Delhi. Concise Biology Class 10- ISCE. November 2020.
Oxford University. Pocket Oxford Dictionary (Eighth Edition). Oxford OX1 2JD, United Kingdom. 1984. [Address taken in from Wikipedia]
YOUTUBE VIDEOS
OnHow. “How To Find When a Website Was Published.” 26 June, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xinD9yYmHjM
HelenaCollegeLibrary. “How to cite a Website in APA Style.” 15 January, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIkZu92J_pg&t=29s
