Pushpa Gujral Science City organized a webinar on theoccasion of World DNA Day to mark the discovery of the double helix structureof deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.
Giving Introductory remarks at the occasion, Dr. NeelimaJerath Director General, Pushpa Gujral Science City said that the discovery ofDNA marked a milestone in the history of science and gave rise to modernmolecular biology, which is largely concerned with understanding how genescontrol the chemical processes within.
Further, understanding the structure and function of DNAhas helped revolutionise the investigation of disease pathways, assess anindividual's genetic susceptibility to specific diseases, diagnose geneticdisorders, formulate new drugs, reveal genetic makeup of a person through DNAfingerprinting used as evidence in courts, as well as, to look for cures forvarious diseases. The day celebration is an opportunity to learn about thelatest advances in genomic research and explore what it meant for our life, sheadded. Justin Mohan Secretary of National Biodiversity authority was alsopresent on this cession.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Director, CSIR-Institute of HimalayanBioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh was the key speaker at the occasion.Delivering his talk on “DNA: The molecule of life” said that DNA is a type ofchemical code that contains instructions; known as genes, for how the body andall its different parts grow, develop, function, and maintain themselves. Thediscovery of DNA has radically changed the way we breed and utilise crops andthe means by which we recognize and protect our plant biodiversity. It hasaccelerated our ability to breed crops with desirable traits such as diseaseresistance, cold and drought tolerance.
Further, Human Genome Project -an international researchproject that accurately determined the sequence of 3 billion nucleotide basepairs and mapping of all the genes found in the human genome has enabled tosearch for genes linked to different types of disease. understand inheriteddisorders and their treatment, he added.
Dr. Rajesh Grover, Director, Pushpa Gujral Science Citydelivering vote of thanks said that the importance of DNA discovery in therapidly developing field of vaccination in terms of ongoing pandemic cannot beoverlooked, since, a novel DNA-based vaccine was available now that couldprovide protection against existing variants of coronavirus.
The webinar was attended by more than 150 participantscomprising students, teachers and general public from Punjab and Himachal.