Mutation: Difference between revisions

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A genetic '''mutation''' occurs when mistakes are made during copying/[[reproductive success|reproduction]] of DNA and/or chromosomes.
A genetic '''mutation''' occurs when mistakes are made during copying/[[reproductive success|reproduction]] of DNA and/or chromosomes.
Mutations may be bad for the organism, or neutral, or benefit the organism. The majority of mutations are neutral.<ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mutations.html#Q1</ref> Mutations are unavoidable and they are necessary for evolution to work at all. Mutations try out new phenotypes and the environment and [[sexual selection]] determine which phenotypes will be prevalent in future and which mutations will become fixed (meaning highly prevalent in the gene pool).  
Mutations may be bad for the organism, or neutral, or benefit the organism. The majority of mutations are neutral.<ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mutations.html#Q1</ref> Mutations are unavoidable and they are necessary for evolution to work at all. Mutations try out new phenotypes and the environment and [[sexual selection]] determine which phenotypes will be prevalent in future and which mutations will become fixed (meaning highly prevalent in the gene pool).  
Older parents produce more mutated offspring.<ref>https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_96182</ref>
Older parents produce more mutated offspring.<ref>https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_96182</ref> There is also evidence that the mutation rate is much higher in human males (up to 6 times higher), which has also been found in other species such as birds.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10978293</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959437X02003544?via%3Dihub</ref> This has lead to a hypothesis of evolution being largely driven by mutations in the male germline.


== Kinds of mutations that can occur ==
== Kinds of mutations that can occur ==

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