mutations

Cultural  

1. Changes in chromosomes or genes that cause offspring to have characteristics different from those of their parents. Mutations can be caused by the effects of chemicals, radiation, or even ordinary heat on DNA. Mutations produce some of the differences between members of a species on which natural selection acts.

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Example Sentences

“We have enormous momentum now toward our goal of changing the treatment landscape for patients” with RAS mutations, said RevMed Chief Executive Mark Goldsmith in an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Genetic mutations are more pervasive than previously thought, causing cancer and other ailments.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Scientists there analyze it to identify genetic mutations unique to that patient’s cancer, encode them into an mRNA vaccine and return the vaccine to New York in about nine weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Over time, the glitches in individual cells add up; a single white blood cell from a 100-year-old, we learn, typically contains more than 3,000 mutations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

In 1994 Neel and Wallace sifted through mitochondrial DNA from eighteen widely dispersed Indian groups, looking for mutations that had occurred since their common ancestors left Asia.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann