Unleash Your Inner BioBeyond Sleuth: Ace the 2025 Disease Detective Challenge!

The correct answer is that there is indeed a chance Malik can be a carrier of sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is caused by a mutation in the gene for hemoglobin, and individuals can inherit one or two copies of the mutated gene. If Malik has one copy of the sickle cell mutation and one normal gene, he would be classified as a carrier of the disease, also known as being asymptomatic with respect to the disease itself.

Being a carrier means that Malik does not have the disease, but he can pass the sickle cell trait to his offspring. For him to express the disease, he would need to inherit two copies of the mutated gene, one from each parent. However, because sickle cell disease follows an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, it is possible for Malik to be a carrier if he has a family history of the condition or if one of his parents is a carrier.

This understanding is essential for genetic counseling and assessing risk in future generations, as carriers can influence the likelihood of having children affected by sickle cell disease or carriers themselves. Thus, there is a significant probability that Malik can fall into the category of a carrier if circumstances regarding his genetic background allow for it.