INSpiREzine Discovering DNA | Page 98

21 . When it comes to the genetic material inside your cells , you are not completely human ! Approximately 8 % of the human genome contains residual sequences of viral genome , from viruses that infected our ancestors . In fact , humans may harbor as many as 145 genes that have jumped from bacteria and viruses and made themselves at home in the human genome .
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22 . Humans have between 20,000 and 25,000 genes . A grape carries 30,000 , a chicken has 18,000 , a fruit fly holds 14,000 , while a microbe has 4,000 . The influenza virus only has 11 genes !
23 . To date , the organism with the least number of chromosomes is the male Australian ant , Myrmecia pilosula , with one chromosome per cell .
24 . Oxytricha trifallax , aka Sterkiella histriomuscorum , is an unusual organism . Neither plant nor animal , this seemingly uncomplicated one-celled protozoan has more chromosomes than any other living organism . 15,600 !!! Amazing , considering that humans have only 46 !
25 . It was actually as the result of a failed experiment on how inherited illnesses pass through families that British geneticist Alec Jeffreys accidentally discovered a method to identify individuals based on their DNA - and forever change crime-solving ! On May 17 , 1985 , DNA fingerprinting was used for the first time to resolve a legal case .
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