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A genetic '''mutation''' occurs when mistakes are made during copying/[[reproductive success|reproduction]] of | A genetic '''mutation''' occurs when mistakes are made during copying/[[reproductive success|reproduction]] of genetic code. | ||
Mutations may be beneficial, neutral or deleterious (bad) for the organism. Around 95% of mutations have no significant immediate effect or are neutral, and most remaining ones are deleterious.<ref>http://www.cs.unc.edu/~plaisted/ce/genetics.html</ref><ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mutations.html#Q1</ref> Mutations are unavoidable and they are necessary for evolution to work at all. Natural and [[sexual selection]] decide which phenotypes will be prevalent in future generations and which mutations will become fixed (meaning highly prevalent in the gene pool). | Mutations may be beneficial, neutral or deleterious (bad) for the organism. Around 95% of mutations have no significant immediate effect or are neutral, and most remaining ones are deleterious.<ref>http://www.cs.unc.edu/~plaisted/ce/genetics.html</ref><ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mutations.html#Q1</ref> Mutations are unavoidable and they are necessary for evolution to work at all. Natural and [[sexual selection]] decide which phenotypes will be prevalent in future generations and which mutations will become fixed (meaning highly prevalent in the gene pool). | ||
Older parents produce more mutations in their 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. This finding is heavily contested however. | Older parents produce more mutations in their 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. This finding is heavily contested, however. | ||
Massively reduced infant mortality may be the main driver of a recent increase in overall mutational load, leading to a higher incidence rate of disease, autism, obesity, sinistrality (left-handedness), asymmetry etc. | |||
== Kinds of mutations that can occur == | == Kinds of mutations that can occur == | ||