Every human being has between 100 and 200 accumulated mutations in their DNA, most of which are harmless and have no obvious health or physical effects, according to a study published in the journalCurrent Biology.
The usefulness of knowing what these new mutations are and how they are is of great importance because “they cause all kinds of genetic diseases”, as explained by the study coordinator and member of theWellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Chris Tyler-Smith.
The scientists came to these conclusions after analyzing a DNA fragment from two male members of a Chinese family separated by 13 generations with a common ancestor who was born in 1805. Specifically, they examined theY chromosome, which passes intact from parent to child except in rare cases where a mutation occurs. Despite the many generations that separated the two subjects, the DNA was virtually identical, containing only four naturally occurring mutations. The result indicates thatat least one new mutation for every 30 million DNA basesthat make up the genome.
According to Tyler-Smith, the finding could lead tonew treatments for genetic diseasesand provide new data on our evolution.
In 1935, one of the founders of modern genetics, JBS Haldane, conducted a study with men suffering from hemophilia and estimated that there would be around 150 mutations in each of us, a figure that agrees with the conclusions now reached by this group of scientists.
