MUTATION • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Mutation

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/mjutˈeɪʃən/ Listen

noun

mutation n.

1.

Change; alteration, either in form or qualities. "The vicissitude or mutations in the superior globe are no fit matter for this present argument."

2.

(Biol.) Gradual definitely tending variation, such as may be observed in a group of organisms in the fossils of successive geological levels.

3.

(Biol.)

(a)

As now employed (first by de Vries), a cellular process resulting in a sudden inheritable variation (the offspring differing from its parents in some well-marked character or characters) as distinguished from a gradual variation in which the new characters become fully developed only in the course of many generations. The occurrence of mutations, the selection of strains carrying mutations permitting enhanced survival under prevailing conditions, and the mechanism of hereditary of the characters so appearing, are well-established facts; whether and to what extent the mutation process has played the most important part in the evolution of the existing species and other groups of organisms is an unresolved question.

(b)

The result of the above process; a suddenly produced variation. Note: Mutations can occur by a change in the fundamental coding sequence of the hereditary material, which in most organisms is DNA, but in some viruses is RNA. It can also occur by rearrangement of an organism's chromosomes. Specific mutations due to a change in DNA sequence have been recognized as causing certain specific hereditary diseases. Certain processes which produce variation in the genotype of an organism, such as sexual mixing of chromosomes in offspring, or artificially induced recombination or introduction of novel genetic material into an organism, are not referred to as mutation.

4.

(Biol.) A variant strain of an organism in which the hereditary variant property is caused by a mutation (3).

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Etymology of 'Mutation'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Mutation" Quotes from Famous Books

... factors in evolution appear at first sight to be very diverse: selection, mutation, climatological, physical and chemical ...

— The Sexual Question - A Scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study • August Forel

... finds you off your guard. I was sure, in your calm way, you would be prepared for sudden mutation. I always think you stand in the world like a solitary but watchful, thoughtful archer in a wood. And the quiver on your shoulder holds more arrows than one; your bow is provided with a second string. Such too is your ...

— Shirley • Charlotte Bronte

... kind. All the variations of species current are, therefore, examples of this continuous process of descent with adaptive modifications. The origin of the human species came about through just such a variation or mutation from one of the higher mammals (we have reason to believe, a species similar to that of the anthrapoid ape). Man's ancestry, it seems, from the scientific evidence which has been marshaled, may be traced back biologically, in an almost unbroken ...

— Human Traits and their Social Significance • Irwin Edman

... mental traits plans something different from social usages or industrial life which changes tradition and modifies the customs and habits of the mass. Whether he be statesman, inventor, philosopher, scientist, discoverer, or military leader, he usually receives credit for the great progressive mutation which he has originated. There can be little progress without these few fertile brains, just as there could be little progress unless they were supported by the laborers who carry out the plans of the genius. While the "unknown man" ...

— History of Human Society • Frank W. Blackmar

... graphic representation," Gerd said. "You know, that line's so sharp I'd be tempted to think of sapience as a result of mutation, except that I can't quite buy the same mutation happening in the same way ...

— Little Fuzzy • Henry Beam Piper

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