Describe a mechanism that the body uses to prevent a mutation from becoming an abnormal cell. Solution The body has several mechanisms in place to ensure that mutations do not turn lethal. The first of those steps is the proof reading activity of the DNA polymerase which reads the DNA strand and corrects the sequence as it synthesizes the new DNA fragment. Thus, the daughter cells contain the original non-mutated sequence. Secondly, organisms are mostly diploid i.e. they contain two sets of chromosomes which includes two forms of the same gene. The mutation would be lethal or cause loss of function only when the other copy of the gene is also mutated (recessive mutation). Also, mutant cells are usually cleared by the immune system which can detect and produce specific antibodies against these cells..

1. Describe a mechanism that the body uses to prevent a mutation from becoming an abnormal
cell.
Solution
The body has several mechanisms in place to ensure that mutations do not turn lethal. The first of
those steps is the proof reading activity of the DNA polymerase which reads the DNA strand and
corrects the sequence as it synthesizes the new DNA fragment. Thus, the daughter cells contain
the original non-mutated sequence. Secondly, organisms are mostly diploid i.e. they contain two
sets of chromosomes which includes two forms of the same gene. The mutation would be lethal
or cause loss of function only when the other copy of the gene is also mutated (recessive
mutation). Also, mutant cells are usually cleared by the immune system which can detect and
produce specific antibodies against these cells.