When free radicals come into contact with body cells, they cause damage that can result in potentially dangerous mutations. (petconsider.com)
Because each potentially dangerous mutation is rare, most people choose instead to play the odds and hope their children will be healthy — a strategy that sometimes results in tragedy. (scientificamerican.com)
Because of this isolation, all four subpopulations show potentially harmful levels of inbreeding, which increases the likelihood of dangerous mutations appearing in individuals and possibly an inability to reproduce. (sciencedaily.com)