HOW DO MUTATIONS CAUSE GENETIC DISORDERS?
This means that scientists have identified a gene that causes a medical condition — but only when it is mutated. People sometimes assume that “if I have the gene, then I’ll get the disease!” This is a common misconception. It’s important to understand that all humans have the same genetic blueprint — which means that we all have the same basic set of genes. The differences you see between you and your best friend, or between people from different continents, result from variations that occur within the sequence of each gene. So all of us have the genes that are responsible for medical conditions. The medical condition only arises when the correct DNA sequence of the gene is altered (or mutated) in a way that causes the protein encoded by the gene to malfunction.
