What makes you different?
Have you ever wondered what makes you one of a kind? Why do you look and act a certain way? You might have your mom’s blue eyes and your dad’s brown hair. Maybe you don’t resemble either parent but are the spitting image of your grandfather when he was your age.
How does your body know what color your hair and eyes should be, how tall you should grow, and countless other details that make you unique? For that matter, how does your body know that you should have two arms, two legs, and ten fingers and toes?
A genome is the complete genetic code of an organism. An organism’s genetic code is a set of instructions that holds all of the information necessary to develop, grow, and stay alive.
Have you ever assembled a toy from a Lego kit? You open the bag, dump out the pieces, and follow the step-by-step instructions to put the Lego bricks together to build the toy. Just as the booklet of instructions shows you what to do, an organism’s genome holds the instructions needed to build and sustain an organism.
Every living thing—every dog, tree, spider, and human—has its own unique genome. Every genome is different. No other organism alive has the same set of unique genetic instructions that you do.
However, even though each genome is unique, genomes are remarkably similar. In fact, every human genome is 99.9 percent the same. It’s that tiny 0.1 percent that makes you different from your best friend, your brother, and your neighbor! Even organisms from different species share much of the same genome.
For example, the human genome shares about 96 percent of its genome with chimpanzees. And more than 60 percent of the human genome is the same as a banana’s genome. This sounds impossible—how can humans and bananas share the majority of their genome when they are so different? Actually, the instructions for making and sustaining life are very similar, whether they’re for a human, fruit fly, dog—or banana.
The human genome shares about 96 percent of its genome with that of chimpanzees.
Primary sources come from people who were eyewitnesses to events. They might write about the event, take pictures, post short messages to social media or blogs, or record the event for radio or video. The photographs in this book are primary sources, taken at the time of the event. Paintings of events are usually not primary sources, since they were often painted long after the event took place. What other primary sources can you find? Why are primary sources important? Do you learn differently from primary sources than from secondary sources, which come from people who did not directly experience the event?
Every genome is made of the same basic material, a macromolecule called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA carries an organism’s genetic information and is organized into segments called genes. A gene holds the instructions for a specific trait, such as hair or eye color.
One way to think of it is this: DNA is like the letters that make up words. Together, DNA’s words form sentences, which are genes. Put it all together and it becomes a complete book, an entire genome.
The genes and DNA that make up a genome are passed down from an organism to its offspring. Your biological parents passed down their genetic information to you. For each trait, you inherited at least two copies of a gene—one from your mom and one from your dad. If you have your mom’s eyes or your dad’s hair, your genome explains why.
The human genome is made up of an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 genes! Genes hold instructions for making proteins that the body needs to grow and function. These proteins are responsible for traits such as eye color and hair color. They do most of the work in cells and are essential for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s organs and tissues.
Every time cells need to build a protein, they use the instructions coded into genes. For example, genes tell cells how to build a protein called actin, which is one of the building blocks of the body’s muscles.
Although genes are essential to life, they are only a tiny part of the human genome, just 1 to 2 percent. A large part of the genome is noncoding, which means it is a sequence of DNA that does not code for a protein.
For a long time, scientists believed that noncoding parts of the human genome were junk DNA and had no function. Today, researchers know that many noncoding parts of the human genome have their own important jobs. For example, some of these areas are responsible for switching genes on and off. When a switch is turned on, it sends out instructions to make a protein. When the switch is turned off, the protein is not made.
Question: What are we trying to find out? What problem are we trying to solve? |
Research: What is already known about this topic? |
Hypothesis: What do we think the answer will be? |
Equipment: What supplies are we using? |
Method: What procedure are we following? |
Results: What happened and why? |
The human genome has long been a mystery. While scientists knew it consisted of all an organism’s genes and the DNA that made them, they did not know how to read its code. In recent years, scientists have made several breakthroughs in unlocking the mystery of the human genome. This knowledge has improved our understanding of how humans have evolved, how we are connected to other species, and the role of genes in disease.
The human genome printed out in book form
credit: Frankie Roberto (CC BY 2.0)
TED-Ed Nguyen genome
VOCAB LAB
In The Human Genome, we’ll take a look at the fascinating world of genetics and the human genome. We’ll learn the basics of how genes work, how DNA is structured, and how genetic inheritance works.
We’ll explore the discoveries scientists have made about the human genome and how these discoveries have helped us better understand and treat certain diseases, trace our human ancestry and migration, and compare our species to others. In addition, we’ll explore some of the ethical, legal, and social issues that arise from advances in genomic science. Together, we’ll explore the mystery that is the human genome!
KEY QUESTIONS
•Why might scientists make mapping the human genome a priority?
•Why is the human genome so similar to the genomes of chimpanzees and even bananas?
Inquire & Investigate
Cells are the basic unit of life. Inside most cells, you’ll find DNA. This large molecule carries all the genetic information for a cell. Simply put, DNA holds the instruction manual for life. Each DNA molecule looks like a long, thin thread. See for yourself!
•To start, clean your strawberries and make sure there are no green leaves on them. Put the strawberries into a plastic bag and seal it. Gently smash the berries for about 2 minutes until they are crushed.
•In a plastic cup, mix together ½ cup of water, 2 teaspoons of dish detergent, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Put 2 teaspoons of this extraction liquid in the plastic bag with the strawberries. Reseal the bag and gently crush the berries again for about a minute.
•Place a coffee filter inside a clean plastic cup and pour the strawberry mixture into the filter. Gently squeeze any liquid in the filter into the cup.
•Estimate the amount of strawberry liquid in the cup. Pour an equal amount of cold rubbing alcohol gently down the side of the cup (not directly into the cup). Do not mix or stir the mixture.
•Examine the contents of the cup. Use the coffee stirrer to help. What do you see? What does it look like? That is DNA!
Ideas for Supplies
•strawberries
•plastic resealable sandwich bag
•2 plastic cups
•dish detergent
•salt
•coffee filter
•rubbing alcohol
•coffee stirrer
