About Mutations
The public normally views mutations as bad. Many Hollywood horror movies have exploited this perception to bring about horrific creatures and extraordinary traits in humans. And mutations can be harmful. Genetic diseases are one of the harmful genetic mutations that can be passed on to future generations and the list of these is long. Some you might recognize however, are Cystic Fibrosis, Hemophilia, Huntington's, Sickle Cell, or Tay Sachs.
In some of these diseases the mutation survives because it requires both parents to carry the gene before a child is born with the disease as in Cystic Fibrosis. If only one parent carries the gene it is simply passed on and does no harm until an offspring pairs up with another person that also carries the gene.
Mutations can also be good and bestow beneficial traits or they can have no effect at all, or at least none that we can uncover at this time.
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