Question

would a mutation make you a superhero? in the comic books, a mutation can give a person superpowers. do you think this really happens? in real life, a mutation can be beneficial, or it can harm an organism. for example, beneficial mutations lead to evolution, and harmful mutations can lead to diseases like cancer. a mutation, however, is not going to turn you into a superhero! the process of dna replication is not always 100% accurate. sometimes the wrong base is inserted in the new strand of dna. this wrong base could become permanent. a permanent change in the sequence of dna is known as a mutation. small changes in the dna sequence are usually point mutations, which is a change in a single nucleotide. once dna has a mutation, that mutation will be copied each time the dna replicates. after cell division, each resulting cell will carry the mutation. a mutation may have no effect. however, sometimes a mutation can cause a protein to be made incorrectly. a defect in the protein can affect how well the protein works, or whether it works at all. usually the loss of a protein function is detrimental to the organism. in rare circumstances, though, the mutation can be beneficial. mutations are a mechanism for how species evolve. for example, suppose a mutation in an animals dna causes the loss of an enzyme that makes a dark pigment in the animals skin. if the population of animals has moved to a light - colored environment, the animals with the mutant gene would have a lighter skin color and be better camouflaged. so in this case, the mutation is beneficial. summary questions (2 points): 1. what can mutations do to proteins/protein function?

Explanation:

The text states that mutations can cause a protein to be made incorrectly. A defect in the protein can affect how well it works or whether it works at all, and usually the loss of protein - function is detrimental to the organism.

Answer:

Mutations can cause a protein to be made incorrectly, which can affect its function, often detrimentally to the organism.