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1. What is meant by a neutral polymorphism? a) a change in DNA that changes a mu

ID: 261550 • Letter: 1

Question

1. What is meant by a neutral polymorphism?

a) a change in DNA that changes a mutation back to wild type?

b) a difference in DNA sequence that changes a charged amino acid to a neutral amino acid

c) a difference in DNA sequence that has no physiological effect

2. What is the significance of this table in the context of examining a family or population for BRCA1 mutations that predispose an individual to cancer?

a)Such neutral polymorphisms make screening difficult in that one cannot always be certain that a mutation will cause problems for the patient.

b) Such neutral polymorphisms make screening easy in that one can always be certain if a mutation will cause problems for the patient.

Explanation / Answer

ANSWER 1.
A neutral polymorphism means:
c) A difference in DNA sequence that has no physiological effect.

ANSWER 2.
The significance of this table in the context of examining a family or population for BRCA1 mutations that predispose an individual to cancer:
a) Such neutral polymorphisms make screening difficult in that one cannot always be certain that a mutation will cause problems for the patient.