what can cause genetic mutations in humans and or dogs???

Question

apparently some chemicals in cigarettes(radiation?) , radiation , and pesticides are some. correct me if im wrong pls. what else can cause such a thing to occur???

Answer 1

Inbreeding is the major cause of genetic mutation in dogs, and it's not good for people. Just as in every life some rain must fall, in every genome there is some not very good stuff. But when we outbreed-marry people we aren't related to-that bad stuff doesn't pop up as much. But when you inbreed, especially line-breed (father-daughter, or mother-son), the bad stuff keeps turning up. And so it pops out. As an example, white tigers. White tigers, or chinchilla tigers, are a mutation. The mutation occurs naturally in every 1 in 10,000 births. But since we want more white tigers than that, we keep breeding them to each other. Two problems with that, the first being that with such a small gene pool too many of the same genes are combining. The other problems concerns the simple nature of mutations. A mutation may be neutral or even beneficial, but it is a mutation. Meaning it is rare, and the kinks haven't been worked out of it. Certain traits that are not so good tend to travel along with the white color of these tigers, such as cleft palate, strabismus (crossed eyes), and retardation. Inbreeding just makes this worse. The white tiger is a spontaneous mutation, though, which should really not be encouraged. An outrageous number of tiger cubs are sacrificed to breed the white tigers we find so beautiful-and they are beautiful, but so are the more average colored tigers. There's a lot of nonsense about "saving the rare white tiger." There is no such separate species as a white tiger, they are just a 1 in 10,000 mutation in pelt-patterning and eye color. It would be like declaring black people with blue eyes a separate species, and breeding for that. Sound bad? Only because we respect people-and in today's society even those who don't have that respect for people are less able to act on it. Some of these inbred litters are born dead, or dreadfully handicapped, and are destroyed. And some of these tigers are killed at birth for the simple crime of being born golden or orange instead of white-there just isn't the money to invest in keeping an animal alive that isn't going to bring in money. They're sold to taxidermists to make specimens or even stuffed toys out of.
You however are asking about mutations that are not random or spontaneous, but which are induced by something-and I've already told you about the encouragement of mutations through inbreeding. Think the Russian Royal Family at the turn of the twentieth century, or the Hapsburgs. They tried to keep it all in the family and wound up with a heritage of disease and mental retardation. But you are talking about mutagenic agents, which could cause harm either by being gametotrophic agents, affecting the semen or the ova, or teratrogenic, and affecting the baby in utero. There are medications which have caused some rather horrific mutations-the Thalidomide babies, born with 'flipper' like appendages and frequently retarded or with other problems. There are also babies whose mothers received certain vaccinations or were exposed to certain diseases while pregnant-German measles, for example. Exposure to the German measles virus in utero can cause deafness, blindness or both. A baby in the womb is held hostage. Anything the mother ingests or is exposed to can affect the child, to a lesser or greater extent. You mentioned radiation. Radiation is gametotrophic, affecting the sperm and ova of adult individuals. The babies born to the survivors of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Chernobyl accident had a high incidence of birth defects, some of them quite rare. Cigarettes, however, do not cause genetic mutations. They do cause cellular mutation, which can lead to cancer. But cellular mutation and genetic mutation are not the same thing. And while smoking cigarettes is a bad idea for a pregnant woman for a variety of reasons, it is not associated with birth defects.
See, that's the thing. Many things can cause problems for babies but not be genetic mutations. Lead, for example. Can cause sickness, mental confusion and eventually death even in adults. For children it is devastating, for a child in the womb a high concentration of lead can be catastrophic, even lethal. However, it does not cause genetic change, just cell death. We are only vulnerable to actual genetic change-on an appreciable level-while we are still in two pieces or are still in the oven. This is why cancer patients still in their childbearing years will bank their sperm and eggs for later use. The radiation treatments will cause mutations in reproductive tissue. No ifs about it. You might get away with it, and not all mutations are bad-you wouldn't have an opposable thumb without them-but better safe than spina bifida or something equally charming.
Mutation does not mean two heads and three penises. We are human because of a step-wise series of mutations that worked, were passed down, etc. We probably have other mutations in store for us-don't shudder, you won't know it. It happens gradually. Finger lengths may lengthen or shorten, a millimeter a century. It will only catch on if it confers a survival value. What will confer a survival value for our descendents? You want my guess? The ability, which will evolve perhaps quicker than usual due to need, to handle exposure to noxious chemicals with a decreased frequency of cancers and birth defects. A resistance to mutagens, perhaps. Oh well. Basically, many things can cause a mutation. If that thing, that factor or stimulus, is inescapable, then we go beyond mutation to evolution. An environmental change placing pressure on the population, those infants born with characteristics that make them live long enough to reproduce will pass on that characteristic-hopefully-and that difference-that mutation-which allowed them to live long enough to reproduce will spread. Clear as mud?

Answer 2

The chemicals in cigarettes are known as carcinogens--that means they're particles that cause cancer and malformations. Carcinogens are also in asbestos and other materials that you're told to stay away from.

Yes, carcinogens, radiation, and pesticides can create malformations in humans and dogs. A large amount of smoke, asbestos-filled air, antifreeze, pretty much anything you wouldn't eat, drink, or breathe (because of health reasons) can harm a dog. If the dog doesn't die from the poisoning, in pregnant females, it can affect the growth of the puppies in the womb.

Sometimes it causes malnourishment, creating sickly, small, weak dogs. Other times it can actually create excess or a lacking of limbs. Brain function can be damaged, as well as how the chemicals in a puppy's brain tell it to grow.

Answer 3

Genetic disorders or Cancer?

It depends on what you are referring to. We don't know the cause of cancer, but it can be genetic, and also its largely effected by what we eat/our enviornment.

Genetic Disorders can occur by inbreeding (although rare), and if one person is a (dormant) carrier of a genetic disorder and has a child with another (dormant) carrier, there is a good chance their offspring will have this genetic disorder.

Answer 4

well sometimes it can just be genetic to have a mutation but most of the time it is becuase a brother and sister have breed or one of the parents is a product of inbreeding.

Answer 5

Inbreeding.

Answer 6

RAPE!!!!