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Well, luckily for
me I only own one pair of genes. So I don't ever have to worry
about changing them. I don't even have to worry about washing
them! Even though my mother keeps nagging me and nagging me
to wash them, and telling me that they're about to walk away
on their own…
Heh heh. I'll never
tire of the old “genes/jeans” joke. But something tells me
YOU might…
Anyway…moving on!
In fact our genes do change – or rather our DNA changes. It
changes everyday. As our DNA is copied, mistakes are made.
Now, luckily, our bodies have repair enzymes (molecules that
fix the mistakes). But sometimes the mistakes get missed,
and that can lead to the cell dying or behaving differently.
If a cell gets the ability to grow more than its surrounding
cells, that cell can turn out to be cancerous.
But as for the mistakes
causing changes like our hair color, or the size of our nose,
or whether we suddenly grow claws like a tiger, it's not likely
– the mistakes are too small for that. Right now, we're not
at the stage where we can voluntarily change our genetics.
But we can still change our jeans, if they really, REALLY
need a washing…
Wanna learn more?
Glossary
term:
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