Question

Give an example of a bad mutation and a good mutation.

Answer 1

@ganeshie8

Answer 2

MEDAL WILL BE GIVEN TO THE BEST ANSWER

Answer 3

Sickle cell anemia is an example of both good and bad mutation. It decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of blood but increases malarial resistivity.

Answer 4

@Abhisar used exactly the example I had in mind.

It's a little subtler than that. We are talking about alleles, specific gene versions, that control the actual physical shape of red blood cells. Most red blood cells are the standard round 'inner tube' shape you see in cartoon diagrams. Sickle cell red blood cells are shaped like crescents. When an individual has one allele for sickle shaped cells and one allele for normal round cells (heterozygote), they are less likely to get malaria. The malaria plasmodium has a harder time physically accessing the differently shaped red blood cells. In this case, the mutation is good. But when the individual is homozygous for the sickle cell allele, the red blood cells are all misshapen and cannot carry oxygen effectively. In that case the mutation is bad.