Insane Facts About Genetics And The Human Genome
Nathan Johnson
Published
05/14/2016
in
wow
Learn about yourself and where it all came from.
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1.
One group of 55 chimps in Africa has two times the genetic variability as all of humanity put together -
2.
Europeans aren't the only people with blond hair. South Pacific islanders also evolved a gene for blond hair. -
3.
Our bodies may not be "allowed" to live very far beyond 120 years due to genetic caps regarding how many times our cells can divide -
4.
Bananas are actually genetic hybrids. Thousands of years ago, humans crossed two strains to come up with today's tasty and sweet fruit. -
5.
Scientists have recently discovered huge viruses called Pandoraviruses. A vast majority of their genes cannot be traced back to anything so some scientists have suggested creating another domain of life -
6.
Elizabeth Taylor's dark eyes were due to a genetic mutation that gave her double lashes -
7.
When two sets of identical twins procreate with each other, their children are all siblings (genetically speaking) -
8.
In Vitro Fertilization allows you to choose the sex of your child -
9.
Researchers at Liverpool found that the plagues of the Middle Ages made roughly 10% of Europeans genetically resistant to HIV. -
10.
When scientists kept fruit flies in total darkness for 57 years, their descendants showed genetic adaptations that were useful for survival in such conditions -
11.
Roughly half of the DNA in our GI tract has no correlation to anything (animal, plant, bacteria, etc). Scientists have labeled it "biological dark matter". -
12.
One in every 4 million lobsters is born blue. They typically don't survive very long though. -
13.
Sickle cell anemia is a genetic mutation that is actually advantageous to people living in malaria infested regions -
14.
There is a genetic mutation that makes your bones extremely dense. One man had bones that were more than 8 times as dense as a normal human. Needless to say, he would sink like a stone whenever he tried to swim. -
15.
Blue eyed people share a common ancestor who lived about 10,000 years ago around the Black Sea -
16.
Cheetahs were nearly wiped out in the last ice age but a small population interbred and survived. For this reason, most cheetahs on Earth today are very, very close genetically -
17.
Some women have a genetic condition that makes them tetrachromatic. This means they can see 100 million colors. Most people can only see 1 million. -
18.
All people share a common genetic line that can be traced back to one woman who lived nearly 200,000 years ago. She has been dubbed "Mitochondrial Eve" -
19.
A genetic disease known as Laron syndrome makes you shorter, gives you a longer life expectancy, and makes you all but immune to cancer or diabetes -
20.
Monsanto Company has been producing seeds that become sterile after the first generation so that farmers can't replant them (yes, this has caused some outrage) -
21.
Only about 10% of cancers are due to genetics. The other 90% are typically caused by environmental factors -
22.
A condition known as methemoglobinemia caused by inbreeding resulted in the Fugates, a blue skinned family from Kentucky -
23.
the longest living human was Jeanne Calment of France. She died at 122 years old. -
24.
We still don't know the function of more than 80% of our DNA -
25.
Your genes will determine whether you find the chemical phenylthiocarbamide to be tasteless or bitter. This is the chemical that gives brocolli and cabbage its taste
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