Plymouth Elementary School first grade students celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Legoland Discovery Center at Plymouth Meeting Mall by playing in a pile of more than 50,000 Lego bricks spilled by a dump truck at the Oct. 25 ceremony. | Photo courtesy Legoland Discovery Center.
If this DNA has a mutation, the child that grows from the fertilized egg will have the mutation in each of his or her cells. Acquired (or somatic) mutations occur at some time during a personâs life and are present only in certain cells, not in every cell in the body.
Besides being the result of a mistake during cell division, mutations can also occur when the DNA in a cell is damaged by an irritant. Examples of irritants that can damage DNA are radiation, inflammation, or free radicals (unstable molecules that arise from metabolism and can damage cells).esides being the result of a mistake during cell division, mutations can also occur when the DNA in a cell is damaged by an irritant. Examples of irritants that can damage DNA are radiation, inflammation, or free radicals (unstable molecules that arise from metabolism and can damage cells).