A change in an organism's genomic sequence.
Questions tagged [mutations]
319 questions
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Actively Harmful mutations
Usually harmful mutations are those which disrupt a vital function, what you might call "passively" harmful. What about a mutation that makes a protein, which is not just useless, but actually toxic to its host? Are there any known examples?
RigorousBastard
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Percentage of mutations caused by radiation?
Consider a gamete in a typical human being. In the interest of being specific, let us say that we're talking about a typical ovum in a typical middle class woman living in a developed nation. What percentage, on the average, of the mutations in the…
goblin GONE
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How does mutation cause natural selection? and is it common in protists or prokaryotes?
Why is it inevitable that evolution by mutations alone should be a common cause of evolutionary change in most natural populations? And do you expect mutation-driven evolution to be more common in typical protists or typical prokaryotes? Why?
user6225
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Calculating bacterial mutation rate
I'm reading Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts et. al and at one point, the authors mention:
One finds that a single gene that encodes an average-sized protein (~$10^3$ coding nulceotide pairs) accumulates a mutation (not necessarily one that…
An Ignorant Wanderer
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How many kangaroos would you have to add to a northern climate before they could start adapting to it?
If some enterprising billionaire wanted to introduce Kangaroos to a northern climate such as the northern boreal forest by Fort McMurray in Alberta, would it be possible for the Kangaroo's to survive and adapt to that climate creating a new super…
Blin
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How to interpret figure on somatic mutation frequencies
In paper Mutational heterogeneity in cancer and the search for new cancer-associated genes, Figure 1 defines:
Somatic mutation frequencies observed in exomes from 3,083 tumour–normal pairs. Each dot corresponds to a tumour–normal pair, with…
gc5
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can a point mutation cause a frameshift?
During translation initiation, a tRNA loaded with Methonine binds to the small ribosomal subunit. Subsequently, a mRNA molecule, recognized by the 5 cap, binds to the small subunit, and the tRNA scans the mRNA molecule for the presence of AUG which…
joanna
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Colonizing Mars: Is research being done to find the most radiation-tolerant plant species?
Due to Elon Musk's stated objectives to colonize and live on Mars in his lifetime, is there research occurring to determine what plants would be the most hardy to survive in the extreme environmental conditions of the planet?
Direct surface growth…
Dale Mahalko
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