Are genetic mutations bad?
2 Answers
Genetic mutations are either, bad, or neutral in terms of the complexity of the information contained in the DNA.
Explanation:
DNA is a highly complex system of information. All known mutations result in a loss of information and complexity.
The mutations may be helpful in promoting the survival of the organisms containing the mutation because of the change of information.
A classic example is the evolution of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Scientists found that bacteria had dropped from its chromosomes a gene called katG.... Apparently the cells had paid a price to defend themselves from the drug . They made an evolutionary trade-off giving up part their own adaptive equipment for the sake of survival.
Malaria is resisted by the mutation of A for T causing the red blood cells to split open. The immune system can then attack the malaria hiding in the intact red blood cell. Having the mutation that causes sickle cell anemia is helpful for survival in malaria zones but a very harmful change of the information system for making healthy red blood cells.
Having a change in information can be helpful like the bacteria that has learned to "digest" nylon by the information for making the enzymes enzymes becoming less specific.
Mutations always result in a loss of information. The loss of information can be helpful to the organisms. Often the information is not critical and the loss is neutral. Most often the loss of information will be harmful or even fatal to the organism. In no cases is a loss of information compatible with the theory of descent with modification that requires an increase in information.
Genetic mutation is bad news for organisms.
Explanation:
To determine whether or not genetic mutations are good or bad, we must first determine what they are. Genetic mutation occurs when, under some environmental condition, a cell loses genetic information. This is never good for a cell and the cell usually dies as a result of this mutation. Simply put, mutation never creates information that a cell didn't have prior to the mutation. Mutation is strictly the loss, not the creation, of information.
