Rising Interest in DNA Testing

The Supreme Court recently voiced worry over the rising use of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Tests in legal proceedings.

What are the relevant issues?

• DNA testing are being requested by an increasing number of complainants. According to the government laboratory, these demands are rising by almost 20% a year.
• Despite the fact that the 3,000 or so DNA tests carried out annually by Indian laboratories pale in comparison to the 70 other countries that rely on DNA Technology, the rise in demand disproves concerns about privacy and potential data abuse.
• In the quest for justice, DNA testing straddle the line between the "eminent need" to learn the truth and its manifestation in the form of evidence in a criminal case, an allegation of marital infidelity, or the establishment of paternity. as well as the dangers of slipping into self-incrimination and invading someone's privacy.
• This draws attention to how technology is increasingly being used to enhance the court system, but it also infringes on people's privacy.
• The Supreme Court recognised that physical autonomy and privacy are components of the Right to Life under Article 21.

What is DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)?

• The organic molecule deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has a complicated molecular structure.
• The strands of a DNA molecule are composed of a lengthy chain of monomer nucleotides. It is structured as a double helix.
• In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson made the discovery that DNA is a double-helix polymer.
• It is crucial for the transmission of a living thing's genetic traits from one generation to the next.
• Nuclear DNA is referred to as such since the majority of it is contained in the cell nucleus.
• DNA stores data in the form of a code made up of four Nitrogenous bases.
  • Purines:
  • Adenine (A)
  • Guanine (G)
  • Pyrimidines
  • Cytosine (C)
  • Thymine (T)

USES of DNA testing

Paternity determination

• In cases involving moms and children who have been abandoned, DNA testing is crucial for locating the parties and ensuring justice.
• When the court needs to decide on the question of support and determine the parents of the child, it is also a very useful strategy Predicting health conditions in infants

DNA testing is also commonly used to predict if an infant has certain health conditions:

• For example, genetic abnormalities like down syndrome or high-risk to certain types of cancer can be detected in an unborn foetus.

Criminal investigations

• DNA testing is also famously used in criminal investigations to determine the guilt of individuals. It is like an invisible footprint that is left behind on crime scenes that is very difficult for criminals to avoid leaving behind (skin, hair, and bodily fluids can all be examined).

Family ancestry

• DNA testing has been enormously influential when it comes to family ancestry. It can be used to reconnect family lineages and help people find out who they really are in a historical context.

Archaeology

• DNA testing has famously been used to track the history of humans and other living organisms through the passage of time. This evidence is the key component behind the modern understanding of the theory of evolution, showing the close link between other mammals and humans in terms of the makeup of our genetic code.

What precedents have the Supreme Court established in earlier cases?

• Judges are not permitted to order genetic tests as a "roving inquiry," according to Supreme Court precedents established over the years (Bhabani Prasad Jena, 2010).

• It was determined in the 2005 Banarsi Dass case that a DNA test had to balance the interests of the parties. DNA analyses Furthermore, if there was already physical evidence on hand to support the claim, DNA tests shouldn't be requested.
• In its Ashok Kumar ruling 2021, the court ruled that courts should take the "proportionality of the legitimate purposes" into account before requiring a genetic test.
• The argument for privacy has been furthered by the Constitution Bench's 2017 decision in the K.S. The Puttaswamy case, which affirmed that the Right to Privacy is a component of the Right to Life (Article 21).

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List of Fungal Infections for the First Time: WHO

The World Health Organization just published the first-ever Priority Pathogens list of fungi that can endanger public health.

What is the WHO's Priority Pathogen List for Fungi?

• FPPL: The top 19 fungi that pose the greatest risk to human health are listed on the Fungal Priority Pathogens List (FPPL).
• The list is based on the bacterial priority pathogens list, which was first created by WHO in 2017 with a similar goal of mobilising attention and action on a worldwide scale.
• Its goal is to direct and encourage additional study and policy changes to improve the world's response to fungus diseases and antifungal resistance.

Categories:

• The pathogen's effect on public health or the danger of emerging antifungal resistance are used to classify the infection.
• Candida auris, a highly drug-resistant fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans are all included in this critical priority group.
• High Priority Group: This group consists of several different fungi from the Candida family as well as others like Mucorales, a group that contains "black fungus," an illness that rapidly increased in very ill persons during COVID-19, notably in India.
• Other fungi in this Medium Priority Group include Cryptococcus gattii and Coccidioides spp.

Recommendations from the FPPL Report

• enhancing the capability and oversight of laboratories.
• maintaining financial commitments to innovation, research, and development.
• enhancing preventative and control strategies in public health.

What are the Emerging Issues with Fungal Pathogens?

Concerns:

• Only four types of antifungal medications are now on the market, and there aren't many candidates in the clinical development stage, making fungal diseases a serious concern to public health. They are also getting more prevalent and resistant to treatment.
• Rapid and accurate diagnostics are rare for fungal diseases, and those that do exist are either expensive or not generally accessible worldwide.
• A growing body of research suggests that global warming, an increase in international travel, and increased trade are all contributing to a rise in both the prevalence and geographic range of fungal illnesses.
• The reported incidence of invasive fungal infections among hospitalised patients increased considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Risks for the emergence of more invasive forms of diseases in the general population are rising along with the resistance of the fungi that cause common infections (such candida oral and vaginal thrush) to treatment.

Target audience

• Patients with severe illnesses and those who have serious underlying immune system-related problems are frequently affected by these fungus infections.
• Those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants, chronic respiratory diseases, and post-primary tuberculosis infection are among the populations most at risk for invasive fungal infections.

Football4Schools Initiative

In order to implement the "Football4Schools" concept in India, the Ministry of Education has inked an MoU with FIFA and the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Football4Schools Initiative: What is it?

• The Prime Minister's goal of making athletics a way of life and raising well-rounded citizens is being realized through the Football4Schools program.
• Through sports-integrated learning, it seeks to empower 25 million young boys and girls in India.
• It supports the goals of the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP).
• Goals: Give students (boys and girls) useful life skills and competencies.
• Give coach-educators the tools and training they need to deliver sports and life skills instruction.
• Increase the ability of all parties involved (schools, member associations, and government agencies) to conduct life skills instruction through football.
• Enhance government and participating school collaboration to promote alliances, partnerships, and intersectoral cooperation.

Describe FIFA.

• The highest-ranking football governing body in the world is FIFA.
• It is the organisation in charge of regulating association football, futsal, and beach soccer internationally.
• FIFA operates on a nonprofit basis.
• FIFA was established in 1904 to regulate intercontinental competition between the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. 211 nations are currently members of FIFA.
• The company's head office is in Zurich, Switzerland.
• FIFA's main goals are to promote fair play and integrity while expanding the sport internationally.
• It is in charge of planning and publicising international competitions, including as the women's World Cup, which debuted in 1991, and the men's World Cup, which began in 1930.
• It is a member of the International Football Association Board and a member of the International Olympic Committee, both of which define the regulations for football.

Describe AIFF.

• The AIFF is the body responsible for overseeing association football in India.
• The I-League, India's top domestic club competition, is also controlled by it, along with a number of other competitions and teams. It also oversees the management of the India national football team.
• After India's independence in 1947, the AIFF was established in 1937 and later received FIFA affiliation in 1948.
• At the moment, it has a location in Dwarka, New Delhi. India joined the Asian Football Confederation as one of its original members in 1954.

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Suspension bridge

• Recently, a suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi collapsed, killing at least 134 people.
• The 19th century Bridge, which had just been reopened after six months of repairs, was reportedly carrying over 400 people when it collapsed.

About suspension bridges

• It is a design where the deck is suspended on vertical suspenders underneath suspension wires.
• Stiffening girders, two or more main suspension cables, towers, and anchorages for cables are the primary structural elements of a suspension bridge system.
• The main cables, which connect to the anchorage or the bridge itself, are suspended between the towers.
• The weight of the deck and the load of commuters on it are supported by vertical suspenders.
• The structure's design makes sure that the strain on the suspension cables is passed to the towers at its two ends, which then transmits it to the ground by compressing it vertically.
• Given that the deck is suspended in the air and supported by the two sets of cables, all of this balancing must be performed within the bridge's weight limits.
• The entire cross-section of the main cable is the basis for supporting the load and making sure that buckling does not occur because the main suspension cables are the most significant load bearing parts.

Facts:

• Since the earliest ones were built of twisted grass, suspension bridges have been among the most durable constructions.

Bridges everywhere:

• When Spanish conquistadors entered Peru in 1532, they found an Incan empire that was connected by a large number of suspension bridges that crossed deep mountain canyons.
• In the US, two examples of suspension bridges are the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge.
• The 725-meter-long Dobra-Chanti suspension bridge built over Tehri Lake is the largest single-lane motorable suspension bridge in India.

Different kinds of Bridges:

• Bridges can also be arch bridges, beam bridges, cantilever bridges, truss bridges, and tied-arch bridges in addition to suspension bridges.

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