PSG College of Technology organized a special lecture as a part of its Platinum Jubilee Celebrations and the Centenary Celebration of PSG & Sons’ Charities (parent organization of all PSG Institutions) on Tuesday.
‘Padma Shri’ award-winning Indian geneticist and senior scientist at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, K.Thangaraj, spoke on the topic – Our Origin, Culture & Consequences.
He first spoke about the origin of human beings, starting from the Hominid Evolution – the process of change over roughly 6 to 7 million years by which modern humans (Homo sapiens) originated from apelike ancestors in Africa. With the arrival of Homo sapiens, came the Southern Dispersal, where the first batch of modern humans, left Africa around 65,000 years ago, and moved along southern coastal routes through Asia.
With civilization and culture beginning to thrive, endogamy (the practice of marrying within a specific community, caste, or group) became a practice and custom. Thangaraj underlined that Endogamy existed way before caste system began.
He explained how prolonged endogamy limits genetic diversity and increases human health risks such as genetic disorders and population-specific disease, and also narrated a few instances where advanced scientific research and interventions (such as CRISPR) have helped manage or find cure to few gene-related diseases.
Thangaraj further shared that the Union Government has prioritized genomic research and biotechnology to launch India into the era of precision medicine. PSG Tech’s Principal Thilagavathi, Deans, Heads of various departments, faculty and students attended the program.
