Genetics 01: Genetics and DNA

Genes, chromosomes, and DNA are the instructions stored in the nucleus of cells and they tell the cells how to replicate themselves correctly and they decide the physical characteristics of an animal. Animals will get their parents' chromosomes in the process called inheriting, and that is the reason why children share similar physical traits with their parents. When there is an error in the duplication process of the cells, a mutation happens. Although a mutation might not make too much of a difference in a body, a serious mutation can cause cells to reproduce incorrectly thus affecting the physical functionality of an animal. This situation is called a genetic condition.

DNA is the chemical sequence that defines the physical traits of a person, our cells replicate themselves in order to keep you alive. When an error happens in the replication process, a mutation happens. The two kinds of common mutations are germline mutation and somatic mutation. Germline mutations are mutations a person inherit from their parents, and somatic mutations are mutations that happen later in their life. When a mutation happens, it can be categorized into one of the three categories: deletion, insertion, and point. Point mutations are mutations that only alter one or more pairs of chromosomes, this kind of mutations has a lighter effect because it doesn't cause a frameshift. On the other hand, deletion and insertion are situations where there is one or more extra or missing chromosomes. These kinds of mutations have greater effects because they cause a frameshift in the DNA sequence. There is a huge number of effects mutations can have on human bodies, they could either be beneficial, silent, or deleterious.