Human genetic admixture

Global human genetic variation is greatly influenced by geography, with genetic differentiation between populations increasing with geographic distance and within-population diversity decreasing with distance from Africa. In fact, these 'clines' can explain most of the variation in human populations. Despite this, population genetics inferences often rely on models that do not take geography into account, which could result in misleading conclusions when working at global geographic scales. Geographically explicit approaches have great potential for the study of human population genetics. Here, we discuss the most promising avenues of research in the context of human settlement history and the detection of genomic elements under natural selection. We also review recent technical advances and address the challenges of integrating geography and genetics.

Genetics in Medicine at Twenty

Oxford handbook of clinical diagnosis , Oxford handbook of clinical diagnosis , کتابخانه مرکزی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران

Human genetics is the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: Classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population genetics, developmental genetics, clinical genetics, and genetic counselling. Genes can be the common factor of the qualities of most human inherited traits. Study of human genetics can be useful as it can answer questions about human nature, understand the diseases and development of effective disease treatment and understand genetics of human life. The aim of the study was to see the genetic variation among the students shown in their phenotype. In the present study Survey on Genetical Variation among the Students in AMET University campus, Chennai.

Profile of David Reich

Response to Cavalli-Sforza Interview: [Human Biology 82(3):245-266 (June 2010)

Interview with Sarah Tishkoff: Perspectives for Genetic Research in African Populations

Behavioral phenotyping of v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1-deficient mice reveals a sex-specific prepulse inhibition deficit in females that can be partially alleviated by glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitors but not by antipsychotics

The serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphism and negative emotionality: placing single gene effects in the context of genetic background and environment.

Congenital heart disease: Genetic causes and developmental insights

Congenital heart diseases in small animals: Part I. Genetic pathways and potential candidate genes

Kallikrein-K1 is the main kinin-forming enzyme in organs in resting condition and in several pathological situations whereas angiotensin I-converting enzyme/kininase II (ACE) is the main kinin-inactivating enzyme in the circulation. Both ACE and K1 activity levels are genetic traits in man. Recent research based mainly on human genetic studies and study of genetically modified mice has documented the physiological role of K1 in the circulation, and also refined understanding of the role of ACE. Kallikrein-K1 is synthesized in arteries and involved in flow-induced vasodilatation. Endothelial ACE synthesis displays strong vessel and organ specificity modulating bioavailability of angiotensins and kinins locally. In pathological situations resulting from hemodynamic, ischemic, or metabolic insult to the cardiovascular system and the kidney K1 and kinins exert critical end-organ protective action and K1 deficiency results in severe worsening of the conditions, at least in the mouse. On the opposite, genetically high ACE level is associated with increased risk of developing ischemic and diabetic cardiac or renal diseases and worsened prognosis of these diseases. The association has been well-documented clinically while causality was established by ACE gene titration in mice. Studies suggest that reduced bioavailability of kinins is prominently involved in the detrimental effect of K1 deficiency or high ACE activity in diseases. Kinins are involved in the therapeutic effect of both ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II AT1 receptor blockers. Based on these findings, a new therapeutic hypothesis focused on selective pharmacological activation of kinin receptors has been launched. Proof of concept was obtained by using prototypic agonists in experimental ischemic and diabetic diseases in mice.

Regulation of aggressive behaviors by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: Animal models, human genetics, and clinical studies

Human genetic studies are rarely conducted for immunological purposes. Instead, they are typically driven by medical and evolutionary goals, such as understanding the predisposition or resistance to infectious or inflammatory diseases, the pathogenesis of such diseases, and human evolution in the context of the long-standing relationships between humans and their commensal and environmental microbes. However, the dissection of these experiments of Nature has also led to major immunological advances. In this review, we draw on some of the immunological lessons learned in the three branches of human molecular genetics most relevant to immunology: clinical genetics, epidemiological genetics, and evolutionary genetics. We argue that human genetics has become a new frontier not only for timely studies of specific features of human immunity, but also for defining general principles of immunity. These studies teach us about immunity as it occurs under "natural" conditions, through the transition from the almost complete wilderness that existed worldwide until about a century ago to the current unevenly distributed medically shaped environment. Hygiene, vaccines, antibiotics, and surgery have considerably decreased the burden of infection, but these interventions have been available only recently, so have yet to have a major impact on patterns of genomic diversity, making it possible to carry out unbiased evolutionary studies at the population level. Clinical genetic studies of childhood phenotypes have not been blurred by modern medicine either. Instead, medical advances have actually facilitated such studies, by making it possible for children with life-threatening infections to survive. In addition, the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases have increased life expectancy at birth from ∼20 yr to ∼80 yr, providing unique opportunities to study the genetic basis of immunological phenomena against which there is no natural counterselection, such as reactivation and secondary infectious diseases and breakdown of self-tolerance manifesting as autoimmunity, in populations of adult and aging patients. Recently developed deep sequencing and stem cell technologies are of unprecedented power, and their application to human genetics is opening up exciting and timely possibilities for young immunologists seeking uncharted waters to explore.

Paucity of data from African populations due to under-representation in human genetic studies has impeded detailed understanding of the heritable human genome variation. This is despite the fact that Africa has sizeable genetic, cultural and linguistic diversity. There are renewed efforts to understand health problems relevant to African populations using more comprehensive datasets, and by improving expertise in health-related genomics among African scientists. We emphasise that careful consideration of the sampled populations from national and within-continental cohorts in large multi-ethnic genetic research efforts is required to maximise the prospects of identifying and fine-mapping novel risk variants in indigenous populations. We caution that human demographic history should be taken into consideration in such prospective genetic-association studies.