Question: whats a mutant?

Juan Ortiz answered on 17 Jun 2016:

A mutant is an individual (could be any type of creature: animal, plant, fungi, bacteria…) that has some errors in the sequence of its DNA. So it has genetic information that is different from its parent(s). DNA has to be copied when a cell duplicates to generate two identical cells. However, in the process of copying the DNA there can be some typos (in the same way we can make mistakes when we copy a text). These typos are called MUTATIONS and the cells are called MUTANTS and are not identical to the original cell. In the multicellular organisms like animals and plants, some cells are involved in the generation of offspring (sons and daughters)

These cells are called GERMINAL CELLS. If these typos or mutations occur in the germinal cells, the son or daughter (offspring) will carry these typos. These typos are called mutations and the individual carrying them is a mutant. Mutants are not that cool as in the superheroes’ movies. Usually a mutation leads to a disease and very rarely to some advantage.