The Atacama Desert, a 1000km stretch of parched wasteland, separates it from Peru to the north. And to the west, only a few islands dotted in the Pacific Ocean break the waves that roll onto Chileâs coast from Australasia.
What is a mutation? A mutation is a change that occurs in our DNA sequence, either due to mistakes when the DNA is copied or as the result of environmental factors such as UV light and cigarette smoke.
Mutations are permanent changes in the sequences of genomic DNA. The mutations that are of main interest to medical genetics are the ones that have deleterious effects on the phenotype and cause disease conditions. Recent advances in medical genetics led to the discovery of an increasing number of mutations that are responsible for genetic diseases.