Question: why are you so interested in mutations?

Elliot Jokl answered on 13 Jun 2016:

Hello and thanks for the interesting question!

I think what I like about mutations is that they are a very valuable way of figuring out how things work.

DNA is like the blueprint for all the important things in the cell, and with our current DNA editing technology we have a really cool ability to make very specific mutations. We can use this to stop a gene that we are interested in from working, and see what happens. This can help us piece together what was important about that gene, and the molecule that it makes. So in the context of a disease, if we know a molecule is meant to be doing something, we might be able to design a drug to help get that job done even if the molecule is broken or missing.

I also find it really fascinating how a small mutation, in BILLIONS of letters of the DNA code, can often have very dramatic effects and cause diseases.