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Gene Mutations And Its Impact On A Person 's Health

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Literature Review
Part l
Introduction
In this chapter we will explore the topic of genes. Genes help to determine who we are and take part in molding how our children will turn out to be. Many aspects will be investigated to gain insight into the world of genetics. Genes and the way they are transmitted will be explored. Hereditary gene mutations and its impact on a person’s health are analyzed. Experts opinions on what they believe will be the future of genetics in the healthcare industry and the ethical implications that can arise will be addressed. This paper will explain the way people can use the knowledge of genes and gene mutations to improve their health and the health of their families.

Genes and the way they are transmitted
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Due to the fact that our chromosomes come from each parent we are 50% related to our father and 50% related to our mother. Since our parents received half of their parents genes we are 25% related to each grandparent. The further back a person’s relatives go then the less DNA a person shares with them. Genes are transmitted from one generation to the next and can be traced back to a person’s ancestors. Scientists were able to identify DNA in people living in the Netherlands today despite that the Neanderthals died out 30,000 years ago (Adhikari, 2011). There are many different type of genes that determine many traits such as a person’s eye and hair color. Certain traits are hidden and can skip generations until they finally reappear when a parent is a carrier to that gene. Each person receives two copies of a gene, one from their father and one from their mother. The dominant gene is the one that will show up since the recessive gene is weaker. Two dominant genes will result in the child inheriting the dominant gene. A person that receives one dominant copy and one recessive copy will inherit the dominant gene. The only way to inherit the recessive gene is if a person obtains a recessive copy from each parent, thereby allowing hidden traits to reappear. Capital letters symbolize a dominant gene while lower case letters symbolize a
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