Sickle Cell Anemia: A Genetic Misstep

One tiny mistake in your genetic code can literally change the shape of your cells.

Inside your red blood cells, you have a protein called hemoglobin that carries oxygen.

Normally, it keeps your cells nice, round, and flexible.

But in sickle cell anemia, there's a single error in the protein's recipe—just one

wrong amino acid out of hundreds. This tiny mistake makes the hemoglobin proteins super sticky.

They start clumping together into long, stiff fibers, forcing the entire cell to warp into

a rigid crescent or "sickle" shape. These stiff cells can't carry oxygen well and get stuck

in tiny blood vessels.