We Are All Constantly Mutating-and That's a Good Thing

"You are a slightly different genetic version of yourself today from yesterday, and will be different yet again tomorrow."

"These kinds of mutations are called somatic mutations, derived from the Greek word soma, which means 'body,' and they are less familiar to most people than inherited mutations are."

"Although hemophilia is usually a hereditary condition, there are some patients whose relatives do not have the abnormal gene. These people have a somatic mutation."

"Few of us are unfortunate enough to spontaneously develop such a severe malady, but somatic mutations occur in everyone all the time."

DNA is not a static blueprint; it changes over time due to mutations. These mutations, known as somatic mutations, occur from the womb to death and are significant in medical science. Roxanne Khamsi's work, "Beyond Inheritance," illustrates that individuals are genetically different each day. While inherited mutations are well-known, somatic mutations are less familiar and can lead to conditions like hemophilia, which may appear in individuals without a family history of the disease.

Read at The New Yorker