Saturday, March 22, 2008

Human Vs. Animal

I found this article today, when I was doing my casual perusal of biology related news.

It says that there are as few as 50-100 genes unique to the human genome. Out of the 23,000 genes that this article says we humans have, that's less than half a percent. Half a percent gives us this intelligent consciousness, the ability to drastically alter our environment, and the desire to make a difference in the world. Half a percent elevates us from Primate, to Human. Somewhere in that half a percent, is the gene that disconnected us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

They're starting to study these human-specific genes now, and take a long look at them. Why they haven't really done this before now I don't know, but I bet that what they find is going to be really interesting. Or maybe it will be totally mundane. Wouldn't it be scandalous if in the half a percent, they couldn't find the gene that makes us so fundamentally different from the animal kingdom?

I think I might giggle at them.

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