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A mutation becomes fixed when DNA repair mechanisms fail or repair the damage incorrectly. During the next round of DNA replication, the mutated strand serves as a template, and the mutation is copied into new DNA. At this point, the cell no longer recognizes it as an error (NHGRI, 2023).

Mutations in somatic cells (body cells) are passed only to daughter cells and are not inherited by offspring. Mutations in germ cells (sperm or egg cells), however, can be passed on to the next generation.