Article: Genetic Diversity

There is an immense amount of beatuy in the diversity of human beings. We are so different that each one of us has our own unique value. These differences meant that we don't all think the same way or believe the same things but we have something innately original to bring to the table. Diversity allows humans to work together to create the functioning societies that make the world what it is.

I came across the article " Decoding Diversity in Bushmen " in Science News magazine and it spoke about the science behind the diversity of hte human species. A reseach group sought out to decode the genetics of Bushmen in southern Africa. What was discovered provides a beatuiful story of genetic diversity but also has seriously beneficial implications. They found 1.3 million variations fo genes that could unlock many mysteries behind human diseases. This information in disease research could mean isolating genes that seem to work with certain diseases and thus their source.

One of the implications is also that pharmaceutical compaines could use this data to research better drugs that genetically sensitive. From this article I learned that a lof of drugs work better for people of European ancestry than for Africans. The article pointed out that this is possibly due to the fact that those of European ancestry were majorly the test subjects. So, the study hints that changes made in the medical world should be centered around a greater sensitivity to genetic diversity. We all are human beings with different personalities of course, but most importantly with genes just as different. The medicines today should reflect that as we continue to increase our knowledge base with research.

"Two Bushmen who live within wlaking distance of each other might habve mor genetic differenes betwewen them than a European and an Asian," says Stephan Schuster, a geneticsit at Pennsylvania State University. I found this statement really cool because it put the findign of the research into perspective. The article gives a techinical explanation about genetic codes and SNP and genetic variants but the quote simplified all of that information. It also piqued my interest because people often lump Africans together genetically because they live on one continent. So , to find out that African Bushmen are more gentically diverse than people of Europen ancestry is really interesting. This is especially true since European ancestry is a broad and varying category by defintion.

The fact that a study done on 5 Bushmen can reveal tons of information about a subjuect is complicated as genetic codes says a lot about scientific researach. This article increased my respect for the scientific process. The idea that you can start with a question asnd research a solution that can have a lot of positive implications that can postively affect a lot of people is worth cherishing and celebrating.