Mutations in Our Body

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When most people think of the word "mutation" a picture of an ugly monster or maybe even a zombie comes to their minds. Of course, these are types of mutations that today's society is most familiar with. Even Hollywood explains how zombies are formed by a mutation in genes in our bodies right? In reality, since zombies are only found in fictional movies and books, mutations happen every day. The scientific definition for a mutation is a change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA. Mutations occur in many different ways and are not always harmful. They can be caused by base substitutions, or replacing one nucleotide with another. Base substitutions can alter amino acids which cause the function of related proteins to change. Mutations can also be caused by removing a base nucleotide (deletion) or adding a base nucleotide (insertion). Both of these lead to a change in the amino acid sequence which again, changes proteins and their functions. So what are the causes of mutations? Well, sometimes they can be spontaneous and are simply caused by an error that occurred during DNA replication. These types of mutations are what cause evolution and plants and animals ability to adapt to the environment over time. We can also cause mutations by high-energy radiation or chemical exposure. Either of these can be very harmful. Mutations aren't always bad. In many ways, they can help us. Unless of course, there ever comes a time that a certain mutation causes actual zombies to exist.
Sources: Class Notes: Chapter10-Molecular Biology of the Gene

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