Life in the UniverseAnswer
How do astronomers find planets around other stars?
Distant worlds can reveal themselves through changes in starlight and the motion of their stars.
THE QUESTION LIBRARY LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
How can humans and chimpanzees share so much DNA and still be so different?
THE SHORT ANSWER
Similar genes can contribute differently when their activity changes in amount, location or timing. DNA similarity alone does not describe how those genes are used.
WHERE THE EVIDENCE STANDS
How sure are we?
- One similarity percentage includes every kind of DNA difference.
- Gene regulation controls the timing, location and amount of gene activity.
- Humans descended from modern chimpanzees.
Humans and chimpanzees inherited much of their DNA from a shared ancestor. Similar DNA can produce different bodies when some protein instructions and patterns of gene activity differ. A similarity percentage also depends on what was compared.
THE LONG ANSWER
THE LONG ANSWER · ABOUT 2 MINUTES
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Keep asking
How closely related are all humans?
Very closely.
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God Plays Dice answers big questions in plain words, with sources and one of six honest labels.
Sources & further reading
(3)
- Genetics ↗Smithsonian Human Origins
- Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome ↗Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium, Nature 437:69–87 (2005)
- Gene Regulation ↗National Human Genome Research Institute
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CONTINUE THE THREAD
Where this question leads.
Life in the UniverseAnswer
Could a planet without a star support life?
A world with no sunrise could still have internal heat. The question is whether it can keep water liquid and supply usable energy.
Life in the UniverseAnswer
How can identical twins with the same DNA turn out so different?
Identical twins develop from one fertilized egg and begin with almost the same DNA. Yet their conditions before birth, later environments and gene activity can differ. Shared DNA…