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How Mutations Affect Ageing

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For instance, one theory about how mutations affect ageing is the somatic mutation theory. The somatic mutation theory indicates that a vital part of ageing is determined by the consequences of our genes after it has been inherited. Its ideology refers that when mutations occur in somatic cells (all body cells except reproductive cells), it would lead to a substantial functional failure of them, which results in a decreased efficiency of organs and eventually death. One other theory is the mutation accumulation theory which was proposed by Sir Peter Medawar in 1952. He had suggested that in later life, when mutations accumulate, they cannot be selected against in view of the fact that these genes would have already been passed onto the offspring,

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