Author Description

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2007 in the subject Biology - Diseases, Health, Nutrition,, course: Ph.D, language: English, abstract: Physical anthropologists study genetic variation and evolution of man and physical anthropology deals with the comparative biology of man; hence it occupies an important place in the field of human biology. Due to enormous increase in the perspectives of physical anthropology, it is difficult to give an acceptable universal definition. The foundations of modern physical anthropology, like those of modern biology, rest on neo-Darwinian theory, which provides the common background for a diverse discipline that lacks a common set of methods. Physical anthropologists recognize that the interaction between human culture and biology has shaped and maintained our species, and that full understanding of the processes responsible requires consideration of both biology and culture. A large number of studies have been conducted in different parts of the world, including India to find out the variation of the genetic markers in human blood, viz., (1) blood group polymorphisms: the ABO system, the Rh (D)system, the MNSs system, the Duffy system, the Lutheran system, the Kell system, the Kidd system, secretor and non-secretor system; (2) serum protein polymorphisms: haptoglobin system, transferring system, group specific component system, etc.; (3) enzyme polymorphism: red cell acid phosphatase system, phosphoglucomutase system, 6- phospogluconate dehydrogenase system, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase system, etc.; and (4) blood cell proteins: haemoglobin variants. The most recent trend in that direction is characterized by the studies at the molecular level (Roberts, 1991; Venkatramana et al., 2001; Duggirala et al., 2004; Arya et al., 2004; Reddy et al., 2005).