Gene Science: Alterations to Somatic Cells versus Germ Cells

There are two types of cells in the human body. The somatic cells are gene cells that are only carried for the single generation in which they are affected. For instance, if a change were introduced into a person's somatic gene cells, that change would occur only throughout that person's lifetime. It would not alter the gene construction of the children this person would have and would therefore have no lasting effects on future generations.

Germ cells are more permanent. A change made to a person's germ cells would affect the person the change was made to along with each subsequent generation that came from that person from that time forward. This is a permanent change, and can be seen as altering the human gene pool and in fact changing it forever.

Those who work with germ cells argue that...