Write a paragraph explaining why the effect of mutations can vary widely - from neutral to harmful to beneficial

Hi,

The word mutation come from word mutate, that means to change. In Biology, a mutations means a change in the DNA sequence of an organism. Since DNA sequence encodes for proteins, when a mutation occurs in part of DNA (gene) it causes a different than usual protein which had to be expressed.

For example:

Now how these mutations affect an organism in which they took place?

The answer is, mutations can be beneficial, harmful and even neutral.

A mutations is beneficial when the sequence changes in such a way that the new protein gives beneficial characteristics to the organism. For instance, a mutation occurs in the DNA of bacteria which enhances its resistance against antibiotics, so the bacteria can live longer. This is a beneficial mutation for bacteria. Sometimes, the mutations can be lethal and very hamrful. For instance, when a mutation occurs in the coding region of a gene for certain trait of organism like skin type, skin color. If mutation happens in coding region of skin type, in such a way that new protein formed is not  correct, it can heavily harm. Like a mutation changes the skin color of people living in hot areas from from dark to pale color. The pale color is prone to more damage than dark color, therefore, these skins are easily burnt and can causes skin cancer and other skins problems to people. Similarly, some mutations can be neutral and they cause neither benefit, nor harm, no effect on organism. These are called silent mutations because the DNA sequence is changed in such a way that new protein is same as old protein. For example there is a gene having part CCG, after mutation it changes to CCA. Both will code for the same protein Glycine and will have no effect on overall phenotype of organism.

Hope it help!

cells use diffusion to get substances in and out of themselves. that diffusion will occur across the cell membrane or the outer covering of the cell. because we are talking about the surface of the cell, surface area and volume are  important factors here. as a cell increases in size, its surface area and volume increase as well.  we call that the surface area to volume ratio (sa: vol).  but the catch is that  volume increases at a greater rate than surface  area. in other words, as a cell gets bigger, the sa: vol gets smaller. so a really small cell like bacteria is mostly cell membrane (surface) with very little contents (volume). a really big cell like an egg, is mostly insides with a super thin membrane. so what ends up happening is that the cell cannot efficiently diffuse all of the stuff it needs in/out to survive. therefore cell size is limited to about 100mm. so how do we make organisms bigger than 100mm? cells divide! by dividing and becoming multicellular, organisms are able to grow!   check out the diagrams i attached to see the effect of sa: vol. i hope this ! good luck!