Genetics and Evolution

Variations Mutations

• Variations are differences in characteristics in individuals and are due to differences in:
• - the genes they have inherited from their parents
• - their environment
• - a combination of both genes and environment.
• Variations which are inherited include height, lobed ears, the ability to roll your tongue and our eye colour. variations which are environmental are scars and piercings and variations from both include our IQ, our weight, our hair colour and our skin colour.

Mutations

• A mutation is a change in the code of DNA which causes differences whether good or bad. They are a mistake made by the gametes which mutates an entire organism and can either change nothing or something big such as their entire appearance. It could lead to a new phenotype which can change a species by the original phenotype dying and the new ones being more adapted to the environment.
• One example of a mutation is albinos. this is a bad mutation as they have no melanin in their skin which can make them more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer.