25 Insane Trivia About Genetics And The Human Genome

Genetics is one of the fastest growing fields of science out there. It wasn’t until the 19th century that genetics even began. The field was started by Gregor Mendel. Mendel was a scientist and a friar who studied trait inheritance, that is the way that traits are passed down from their parents to their offspring. His observations led him to conclude that organisms inherit traits by way of “discrete units of inheritance”. In this way he basically came up with the idea of genes. These days the field has advanced almost unbelievably. Geneticists now study the function of genes across a wide array of disciplines. In fact, thanks to genetic engineering, millions of lives around the world have been saved. By creating higher yield crops by way of selective breeding, farmers in developing countries have actually managed to feed populations that would otherwise have starved. With all of these incredible advances as well as the mapping of the human genome, we now know more about the blueprint for human beings than ever before. Genes define the way your cells act and your cells define the way you act. Get ready because these are 25 insane trivia about genetics and the human genome!

• One group of 55 chimps in Africa has two times the genetic variability as all of humanity put together.
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• Europeans aren't the only people with blond hair. South Pacific islanders also evolved a gene for blond hair.
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• 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.
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• Bananas are actually genetic hybrids. Thousands of years ago, humans crossed two strains to come up with today's tasty and sweet fruit.
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• 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.
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• Elizabeth Taylor's dark eyes were due to a genetic mutation that gave her double lashes.
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• When two sets of identical twins procreate with each other, their children are all siblings (genetically speaking).
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• In Vitro Fertilization allows you to choose the sex of your child.
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• Researchers at Liverpool found that the plagues of the Middle Ages made roughly 10% of Europeans genetically resistant to HIV.
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• When scientists kept fruit flies in total darkness for 57 years, their descendants showed genetic adaptations that were useful for survival in such conditions.
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• 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".
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• One in every 4 million lobsters is born blue. They typically don't survive very long though.
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• Sickle cell anemia is a genetic mutation that is actually advantageous to people living in malaria infested regions.
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• 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.
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• Blue eyed people share a common ancestor who lived about 10,000 years ago around the Black Sea.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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".
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• 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.
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• 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).
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• Only about 10% of cancers are due to genetics. The other 90% are typically caused by environmental factors.
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• A condition known as methemoglobinemia caused by inbreeding resulted in the Fugates, a blue skinned family from Kentucky.
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• Although we mentioned earlier that the "lifespan cap" is around 120 years, the longest living human was Jeanne Calment of France. She died at 122 years old.
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• We still don't know the function of more than 80% of our DNA.
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• 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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