You're a mutant and I'm a mutant

For the past 70 years, scientists have been seeking an accurate estimate of the mutation rate in humans. Recording the number of mutations for each new generation of humans would not simply be a trivial scientific fact, but a way to cure genetic flaws and learn about evolution. As a result of next generation sequencing technology, we may finally have a good idea of how mutated each human being is from the last. Using two Chinese men who shared a common ancestor born in 1805 as test subjects, scientists looked at the number of genetic differences between them while looking at the size of the human genome. Scientists found that the average human has between 100 to 200 new mutations. This may seem like enought to turn you into a pile of genetic good mishap, but most of these mutaitons are unnoticeable at any serious level.

This is not to say that scientists were completely clueless as to how different they were from their mother and father. In 1935, JBS Haldane, a pioneer in modern genetics, studied a group of men with the blood disese hemophilia, and reached a theory that each human has about 150 new mutaions. All science needed was actual evidence to confirm Haldane's assumption. The level of information interpretation needed for this would have made the research impossible just a few years ago.

New mutations are the source of a lot of dysfunction in our genome, causing various diseases such as cancer and deformities such as an extra finger. Identifying the problem is the first step to actually curing it. This research also speaks volumes about our existence and how we came to be. Evolution can be thought of as the end result of genetic failures over thousands of generations; however, life needs evolution to survive. We cannot really look at mutations as aberrational processes as a result. This puts a whole new light on evolution, its pace, and how we should view it as humans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8227442.stm

Jason Dwight
VTPP 434 502