#392 Your DNA Is Not Static: Roxanne Khamsi on Mutation & Mosaicism

About this episode

Roxanne Khamsi discusses the dynamic nature of DNA and the implications of mutations and mosaicism in genetics.

What if one of the biggest assumptions in genetics is also one of the most incomplete? We often talk about DNA as though it is a stable blueprint, a fixed set of instructions inherited at conception and carried unchanged throughout life. But in Beyond Inheritance, science journalist Roxanne Khamsi challenges that idea in a profound way, arguing that our genomes are far more dynamic, unstable, and biologically creative than most of us realize. In this episode, Roxanne Khamsi dives into the science and implications of mutations that arise after conception, the spontaneous, somatic, and mosaic genetic changes that shape our tissues, immune systems, brains, aging process, and risk for disease. We talk about how these changes complicate the idea of inherited disease, how cancer can be understood through evolution, why some mutations are harmful while others may actually rescue disease, and what all of this means for the future of medicine. In This Episode, We Discuss: Why DNA should not be viewed as static What somatic mutations are and why they matter The concept of mosaicism and what it means that every human is a mosaic How Darwinian evolution can happen within the body How…

People in this episode

Host: Kira Dineen

Guest: Roxanne Khamsi

Topics covered

• DNA
• mutation
• mosaicism
• genetics
• disease
• evolution
• medicine

Keywords

• somatic mutations
• mosaic genetic changes
• inherited disease
• cancer evolution
• immune defense
• clonal hematopoiesis
• phenocopies

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Beyond Inheritance

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