Mutation

A rare, accidental or intentional change of the genetic information (DNA or RNA sequence) of a genome. While every human being is unique, from a genetic standpoint, there is only 0.1% difference among the genomes of every person. The consequences of a mutation can vary depending on the part of the genome affected. The term “mutation” refers to any change in the DNA sequence, regardless of its pathogenecity on a gene or chromosome. There are also “variants.” A mutation is said to be hereditary if the mutated sequence is passed down to the next generation. But DNA variations (knowns as “polymorphisms”) are also, by definition, mutations.