SIC-Mutant Superheroes

Science in the City

Mutant Superheroes

DEAR SCIENCE WORLD,

I’m a huge comic book junkie! There are so many superheroes with crazy mutations. Is it possible
that I could have a mutation too?

Die-hard Comic-booker

Dear DC,
Genetic mutations that give regular people superpowers are a staple of comic book culture. Science fiction allows people to escape into worlds where we can do anything our imaginations can come up with.

In reality, it’s possible that you already have some sort of mutation somewhere in your DNA. But could you plan a mutation to make you shoot lasers from your eyes, turn air into a tornado, or release fire from your fingertips? Probably not, DC, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to try!

So just what is a mutation anyway? A mutation is a change in the DNA code in one cell. It might have a harmful effect, a beneficial effect or no effect whatsoever. Some mutations cause cells to die. Others cause cells to multiply out of control, a condition that’s also known as cancer.

In comic books, radioactive spiders cause mutations. In our world, mutations can be caused by chemicals (like those in cigarettes), radiation (like UV light from the sun), or by mistakes in copying DNA as cells divide and reproduce.

If a mutation happens when a person is still an embryo, the mutation might be carried along during development and copied in many cells. Such a mutation might cause a noticeable change, but still allow a person to live a healthy life.

For example, red-green colour blindness is caused by a mutation on the X-chromosome and usually affects males. People who are colour-blind have trouble distinguishing between different shades of colours, but are otherwise healthy. In fact, researchers at the University of Calgary have observed that colour-blind monkeys are better insect hunters than those with normal colour vision. Why? Perhaps because they aren’t distracted by colours and, instead, they concentrate on shapes or contours. Maybe for monkeys, colour blindness is a mutant superpower!

Other diseases caused by mutations during development have more damaging effects. Huntington’s disease, for instance, is a particularly nasty fatal genetic disease that causes muscle coordination and mental function to degenerate.

Maybe you’re already a mutant, and you don’t know it. Mutations can happen in the parts of our genome called junk DNA. This is DNA that is not used by our cells and has no known function. If a mutation occurs in this part of your genome, the effects would never show because the DNA isn’t used by your body to function.

As for mutations that can make our bodies extra stretchy or extra strong, or allow us to fly or breathe underwater, these haven’t been discovered yet. But don’t let that stop you from imagining the possibilities and dreaming up some new superheroes!

Sincerely,
Deanna Wiebe
Official Science World GENE-ious