How can society help keep Indian women in science, get young girls interested in the field?

Research institutions around the world on average have 28.4 percent women employees. Indian research institutions have been unable to make even this poor benchmark. Women make up only 14 percent of 2.8 lakh scientists, engineers, and technologists in research and development institutions in India. In the past few decades, while the number of women enrolled in science higher education has steadily increased, the number of women entering the science workplace has not shown a commensurate rise. This suggests that women are either not willing to continue in science jobs or are not being provided suitable opportunities to do so.

Pros of gender-balanced in scientific campuses

There is a school of thought that women bring a distinctly different perspective to science than men. Studies have shown that diverse groups have more collective intelligence than groups made up of men only. The implication is that gender-balanced teams are likely to be more productive and “smarter” as compared to all-male teams. It, therefore, makes sense that we would like more laboratories to try and achieve an equal male: female ratio. (Read more)

Genomics data banking could revolutionise healthcare, but comes with unmitigated risks

You read a brochure that promises to tell you what diseases you are likely to get in the next decade. Obviously you want to lead a longer, healthier life. So you send a cheek swab to the clinic and await test results. Thankfully, your reports are largely all-clear except a minor mutation which would likely pre-dispose you to diabetes in your 40s. Your doctor dutifully prescribes diet control, exercise and a pill.

A few months later, you hear that your cousin has got convicted in a hit-and-run case. Unwittingly, you played a role in the conviction because it was your DNA that led the police to identify him. Your chances of getting diabetes may be lower, but your cousin’s chances of proving himself innocent are nil. Sounds unbelievable? (Read more)

IndiGen project — how mapping of genomes could transform India’s healthcare

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched an ambitious project, IndiGen, to sequence whole genomes of diverse ethnic Indian population to develop public health technology applications.

The CSIR last month announced sequencing of 1,008 Indian genomes as part of the project. It aims to complete sequencing of at least 10,000 Indian genomes over the next three years.

A genome is an organism’s complete set of DNA. It includes all genes, which house the DNA, and chromosomes. The genome contains all the data that is needed to describe the organism completely — acting essentially as a blueprint. The genome can be understood through the process described as sequencing. (Read more)

DNA Technology Bill: Why the Standing Committee Has Its Work Cut Out

[Co-authored with Murali Neelakantan]With a decade-long history of deliberations, the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill 2018 is no stranger to the halls of Parliament. It is currently being scrutinised by the Parliamentary Committee on Science and Technology, after it was reintroduced in the Lok Sabha earlier this year.The Bill seeks to regulate DNA laboratories and proposes to establish a DNA databank, although there are already many unregulated DNA databases with various authorities. There seems to be widespread support for use of DNA evidence, primarily on the understanding that (i) it is “new scientific technology” used widely around the world; (ii) India needs modern weapons to fight crime; and (iii) similar laws exist in other countries, including the US, the UK, Ireland and South Africa, for helping convict criminals and acquit innocent persons.However, there are three broad areas of concern – capacity, training and consent – that authorities need to iron out before unleashing the DNA Bill in India. (Read more)

Cap on age limit for IVF could be allowed, but only with checks and balances

Septuagenarians in India using in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) technologies have met with mixed responses.

While IVF is becoming the most common infertility treatment, many countries, including the US, UK and Australia, have recommended age limits for accessing the technology.

India, however, currently has no laws restricting IVF access for women of advanced ages. Consequently, in the last three months, at least two IVF-assisted births by women in their 70s have been reported from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.The idea of a 70-year-old woman giving birth to a child shocks the sensibilities of a lot of people. Though there is no legal age restriction, the state-funded Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) advises an upper age limit of 50 years. In 2017, the ICMR proposed the IVF Bill to regulate access to IVF based on age, but the Bill is yet to be taken up by the Parliament. (Read more)

GMO: let's take a balanced view

At least 12 farmers have been booked in Maharashtra for planting banned genetically modified (GM) cotton and brinjal seeds. Undeterred by this, farmers have been protesting the blockade of new technologies that could aid farming. This movement has elicited mixed responses from farmer groups — some support the idea; others oppose the introduction of GM technologies in Indian agriculture.The anti-GMO argument rests on three pillars: first, that GMOs are controlled by large companies and are essentially anti-farmer; second, they are harmful to biological diversity and third, they are harmful to human health. They also argue that the Maharashtra farmers have been paid by large companies to pressure the government into accepting the technology.On the other hand, pro-GMO groups such as the Shetkari Sanghtana backing the Maharashtra protest argue that farmers need to adopt more GMOs to get better yields and more income. This is by no means a new argument. In 2001, farmers were accused of illegally planting GM cotton, much prior to India permitting the commercialisation of Monsanto’s Bt cotton. So, as these two groups tussle it out, who will blink first? Read more

The gene of prejudice in gender determination

From impeding track stars like Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand to laws restricting bathroom access and a proposal in the US for genetic determination of sex, the issue of gender identity remains mired in controversy.Can there be a sensible and humane resolution to this debate? Or does this debate represent an unwarranted imposition of societal perception of gender on the scientific determinants of sex? If that is the case, the resolution definitely does not lie in force-fitting science to societal concepts. In a landmark decree, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it was shifting gender incongruence (i.e., being transgender, when your gender identity is different from the one assigned at birth) from its mental disorders chapter to the sexual health chapter. It basically means that the WHO recognises that being transgender is not a mental health problem as was initially thought, but is probably normal biology. (read more)

Biological Weapons: The Impact of New Technologies

In June 2018, German police arrested a Tunisian man in Cologne for trying to build a biological weapon using the deadly toxin, ricin.1   In October 2018, researchers flagged a US agricultural program funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) as a potential mask for a bioweapons project.2 At the same time, Russia also claimed that the US had tested biological weapons in Georgia killing over 70 people.3 Further, suspect packages were sent to select targets in the United States in October 2018;4 these packages in addition to being mail bombs also carried a white powder reprising concerns of the anthrax attacks from 2001 which led to the death of 5 people.There has been no incident of biological agents being used as a weapon of mass destruction in the recent past. Yet as the above examples show, there have been attempts to explore and create technologies that could be weaponised by both state and non-state actors. The threat was made apparent by James Clapper, US Director of National Intelligence, who added gene editing in their annual worldwide threat assessment report in 2016.5 Since then, there has been a wider recognition that the advances in technologies and improved access to science have lowered the barriers to creating designer bioweapons. [Read more]

Time India Lay’s eyes on Pepsi potato case

A multinational giant using all its might to crush four small farmers for an alleged patent infringement: this is how PepsiCo’s decision to sue a group of Gujarat farmers for Rs 1 crore each played out in the media early this month. The US-based snack and beverage maker was accused of coercion for taking the farmers to court for growing FC5 potato variety, which it exclusively developed for its Lay’s chips.It was the money — Rs 1 crore — that caught attention: how can a poor farmer pay such a huge amount? And instinctively, you side with the farmer. But is that instinct correct? Who is right: the farmers or the drinks major they are up against? [Read more]

Advanced gene editing may mutate into WMDs

Last June, German police arrested a man planning a terror attack by releasing large quantities of the biological toxin ricin, said to be 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide. The raids on a block of flats in Cologne blew the lid off our worst fears: non-state actors laying their hands on bioweapons.Technology has always changed war and its arsenal. Scientists, security experts and diplomats are increasingly talking about biological weapons when they discuss strategies to prevent proliferation of conventional and nuclear weapons. While biological attacks have been rare since the end of World War II, isolated incidents have been reported. The ‘anthrax letters’, which killed five people in the US following 9/11, is one such incident.Read Entire Article Here

DNA bill is designed to fail

The promise of delivering speedy justice has moved members of the Lok Sabha to okay the, 2018, early last month. In response to concerns about privacy violations, the Bill proposes constituting a regulatory board, which will have the difficult task of finding ways to secure informed consent from people who may not understand what their DNA is, or its value.But even if the privacy and consent issues are adequately addressed, would the Bill deliver on speedier justice?In its current form, the Bill is a potpourri of good intentions aimed at governing too many outcomes without focusing on one thing. However, by trying to achieve too much, the Bill may end up subverting its own aims.. [Read more]

Should India move towards germline gene editing aka genetically modified babies?

Chinese researcher He Jiankui – who announced on YouTube in November that he successfully modified the genes of Lulu and Nana, healthy newborn twins – has taken mankind one step closer to becoming the superpower that can triumph even nature in selecting our own genes. Scientists worldwide are appalled at Jiankui’s violation of a self-imposed moratorium by enabling the birth of genetically edited children.But before we dread a future of designer children and super soldiers strutting around, we need to look at how germline gene editing – an inheritable change in the genetic code – may be particularly relevant for India with a high predisposition to genetic disorders and lack of affordable healthcare for the less-privileged. So, it makes sense for the country to invest in prophylactic technologies instead of therapeutic approaches. Read more

A Time to Make Ethical Decisions

A couple checks into a clinic and looks up a menu of options: blue eyes, fair skin, excellent hand-eye coordination, good runner, team player. They are opting for the “sportsman” package with a few cosmetic perks for their future child. Having made their choices, they walk away. A few weeks later, their desirable embryo is implanted and nine months later, they welcome the child who they want to be the future captain of the Indian cricket team. Let us look elsewhere in the world: In a hidden laboratory, an evil scientist is creating a super-race with characteristics like immense muscular strength, obedience, quick healing – basically your standard “Wolverine” with the added feature of inherent loyalty. Is this the futuristic scenario that pops in your head when you hear the word ‘germline gene editing’? Some find the power to control our own genes fascinating; others find it repulsive but primarily many fear what this power could do to the human race. But as we worry about whether gene editing will be the bane of humanity, we turn a blind eye to gene editing – the savior of humanity. Read more

Chinese gene-edited baby row rekindles need for guidelines in India

The global scientific community has been outraged by Chinese scientist He Jiankui’s claim of creating the world’s first genetically modified baby using the gene-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9. The scientist claims that baby Lulu – who differs from previous recipients of gene therapies like Layla Richards¹ – was born with a genetic modification and will pass it on to any child she may have in the future.On ethical and safety grounds, scientists worldwide have abstained till now² from genetically-modified embryo experiments. However, the Chinese case hints that some researchers may be secretly competing to outbid their peers in creating gene-editing based solutions. There have also been instances of biohackers crafting DIY CRISPR kits³, affording buyers with elements that could be used in home experiments.Read more

India has learnt to live with a bomb, now it must be open to gene editing too

Even if this week’s news – that He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist, has produced gene-edited babies – had been found to be false, it would only have been a matter of time before someone did it successfully. The technique used for gene-editing, called CRISPR-Cas9, is relatively simple to use and a decent laboratory anywhere in the world will be able to carry it out.You can’t un-invent this. And if you try to ban it, you’ll drive the industry underground, which means only the unscrupulous and the shady will have access to it, and good people won’t. Gene editing is not like nuclear weapons whose manufacture needs a lot of money, lots of space, a complicated global supply chain and government support. As Sandhya Ramesh reports in ThePrint, you can order a gene-editing kit online for $159. So, it is something that a good laboratory technician can do without too much money or attracting too much attention.Read more

Inter-caste marriages are good for health of Indians. That’s what DNA testing tells us

Among the most exciting discoveries in recent years has been in the field of genetics and genomics, as the deciphering of the Indian genetic code has yielded fascinating insights into, “Who We Are and How We Got Here”. That’s the title of Harvard scientist David Reich’s recent book on human origins as pieced together from our DNA.I may be biased, but the chapters about India — based on the work of Priya Moorjani, K. Thangaraj, Lalji Singh, Vagheesh Narasimhan and numerous other collaborators — are the most fascinating. Over the past decade, these scientists have uncovered compelling evidence showing that most people in India arose from a mixture of two ancestral populations that they call Ancestral North Indian (ANI) and Ancestral South Indian (ASI), and that the ANI component tends to be higher among upper-caste and northern Indians. Other researchers have added greater detail to the picture, showing that in addition to ANI and ASI, Andaman and Nicobar Islanders, Tibeto-Burmans and Austro-Asiatic groups contribute to the great Indian population mix.Read more