"Founder Mutations" One Page Response

            According to everything from Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Maolem to “Founder Mutations” by Dennis Drayna, evolution always knows what it’s doing.  Although some mutations may seem fatal or disadvantageous, they often safeguard against other deadly diseases.  In particular, founder mutations are passed on identically down a genetic line, and while having both genes for them can kill, just having one protects its recipient from a certain disease.  Although this seems troublesome, as some people will get the fatal disease from this mutation, a greater number of people will receive the benefits and be able to survive.  Mutations like these are the checks and balances of evolution; although they can be counterproductive in some cases, they have the power to protect humans from a host of problems.        

            What makes these founder mutations so special is the way they are passed on from parent to offspring.  Instead of a single small mutation existing on similar random parts of DNA, founder mutations are long strings of DNA that are damaged in the middle, or haplotypes.  Exact haplotype are passed on, getting a little shorter every generation.  According to Drayna, the length of haplotypes enables scientists to deduce the “origins of founder mutations and to track human populations.”  Younger mutations should be more similar to the original full chromosome with the mutation, while older ones would have many more differences, as more time has passed and allowed them to “shuffle.”  From the age of the mutation and the populations where it’s found, the origins of the mutation can be gleaned, including where they originated, how that population spread, and what populations they mixed with.  The movement of humans is essential to understanding the present, as seen in The Journey of Man, and that film would do well to reference founder mutations, which could provide significant support for their findings.  Founder mutations are key parts of human history and present medicine, so it is important that they are studied now in order to find cures for the diseases they cause and prevent, and learn more about human ancestors.