Module 7 Lesson 4 - 5
Completion requirements
Lesson 4 — Changes in the Genetic Code
Lesson Summary
Popular shows that depict superheroes, such as Bionic Woman, Superman, Spiderman, and the X-men, who all have new and amazing abilities are not just factually unlikely; they are scientifically unsound ... or are they?
Reflecting on your knowledge of DNA, replication, and mutation, reflect on the possibility of a genetic superhero arising from the human population. What might be needed beyond the naturally occurring mutations and selection pressures to produce a real genetic superhero?
Who are mutants anyway? After going through this lesson, you should realize that everyone's DNA is changing all the time. Can we all be considered mutants? Most of the changes or mutations have no effect on us (as in silent mutations), but some may have minimal or some may have dramatic effects on our lives (as with missense or nonsense mutations). The only mutations that affect our offspring are mutations that occur in our germ cells. When mutations occur in the germ line, future generations can continue to pass the mutations to cause new variations in the population. These variations can have positive outcomes and give advantages to a population, such as with sickle cell anemia's protection against malaria, or they could have negative effects and disadvantage a population, such as with cancer.
Assignment