Causes of Mutations

Heather Russo


-A mutation is the change in DNA sequences, the DNA fails to copy accurately
-Mutations can be caused by exposure to specific chemicals or radiation
    -When cells are exposed to radiation, radiochemical damage can occur either by direct action or indirect action
-If a mistake is made as DNA copies itself during cell division it could be at random, not having any specific cause.
-If a mutation is present it could lead to cancer
    -A gene mutation can tell a cell to grow and divide more rapidly. This creates many new cells that all have that same mutation
    -Normal cells know when to stop growing so that you don't oversupply with cells, cancer cells lose the controls that tell them to stop growing, a mutation in a tumor suppressor gene allows cancer cells to continue growing and accumulating

Reflection:

Learning more about this topic informed me a lot about the different causes of mutations. Before researching more I didn't know that cancer was caused by the change in DNA and they could allow rapid growth. It surprised me that you could have mutations from sunlight itself, I learned in class a little bit about the radiation but didn't know too much about it. I liked this objective because it applies to real life things that happen a lot, for example cancer is a major disease which is caused by mutations itself and a lot of people have this disease. We wear sunscreen to protect us from the harmful UV rays, but little did I know that it was protecting us from mutations occurring.

"The Causes of Mutatations." Understanding Evolution. N.p., n.d. Web.