• Question: do your genes ever change or do they stay the same all the time?

    Asked by hannahxx to Jess on 27 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Jess Bean

      Jess Bean answered on 27 Jun 2013:

      Your genes are set out by your parents when you are born, and they shouldn’t change your entire life. They repeat and repeat in every cell your whole life without changing.

      However….. there are 2 main things that can change as you grow older. Firstly the expression of the genes can change. This can be like if you were born with really blonde hair, and then as you get older your hair turns darker. Your DNA has not changed but the gene for darker hair colour is now more active (more expressed). Some genes can also turn ‘on’ and ‘off’ over the course of your life.

      Secondly your genes can change through something called mutation. This is mostly from dangerous things in our lifestyles like smoking, alcohol and too much sun, which causes your DNA to get damaged. This results in things like cancer.

Comments