Fun Facts about GENES
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There are between 30,000 and 40,000 genes in the human genome.
Some previous estimates suggested there could be 100,000 or more human genes.
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A human being can be made from a gene count only twice as great as that of a fly or worm.
There are 26,000 genes in the plant thale cress; 18,000 in the nematode worm; 13,000 in a fruitfly, 6,000 in yeast, and 4,000 in the tuberculosis microbe.
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We are not fruitflies or worms because some our genes work differently – we have more “control genes.”
As we trace the increase of complexity from single cell creatures, through small animals like worms and flies, and up to us, what we appear to be adding is control genes. Evolution is not so much adding new genes performing wholly new functions – what it’s chiefly doing is to increase the variety and subtlety of genes that control other genes.
Facts from: https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/ten-facts-human-genome-project/
Contact
Advisor:
Brian Erasmus:
[email protected]
Leader:
Thomas Ding:
[email protected]
