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1-Page Summary of Genome

Overview

A paleontologist, geneticist and developmental biologist discuss the evolutionary history of humans. They show how studying fossils, genes and embryonic development can help us understand our past.

The birth of Dolly the sheep in 2003, the first cloned animal, sparked a worldwide debate about whether we should allow ourselves to play god.

The question is, should we manipulate mother nature? Or would there be dire consequences in doing so? There are many things to learn from genetics. We’re more similar to other animals than previously thought and humans continue evolving.

Now that we have the entire human genome mapped, we can understand how life works. In this section, you’ll learn about the history of genes and what’s in store for our species based on our DNA.

In this article, you’ll learn why our cells are like libraries and bacteria are adaptable. You’ll also find out how cancer can’t be killed because it keeps multiplying.

Big Idea #1: The Human Genome is the most important book in history.

When the human genome was mapped out in 2000, it was a major turning point for humanity. For the first time we had access to the book that described our story and also gave us insight into how we could live healthier lives. To understand its importance, you must first grasp some basic genetics concepts. The human genome is made up of 23 chromosome pairs—each shaped like an X with genes stacked on each arm—and varies in size and number of genes per pair.

A gene is a sequence of DNA that contains the information needed to make proteins. Each gene can be broken down into smaller sequences called codons, which are made up of three nucleotides: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. These molecules are often referred by their first letters: A, C, G and T. Genes can be read in order to replicate themselves.

Think of the genome as a book, and each gene is like a short story.

The human genome is the most complex book in the world. It contains over a billion words, and every chapter of life ever written can be discovered in it. The information contained within this tiny nucleus could easily fit on the tip of a pin.

In our DNA, we can learn about the evolution of life and how illnesses like Huntington’s disease came to be. We can also find out why people love cool ocean water.

This book will examine the following key points:

  1. The essence of human life
    2. How to open up this book
    3. A few chapters that have defined the essence of every person on earth

Big Idea #2: Humans are unique, but they’re not the end point of evolution. There’s more to come in terms of human development and progress.

We might think that humans are the end point of natural selection. However, other similar species such as chimpanzees are endangered, while we continue to thrive.

Humans are indeed unique, but not as special as we think. We share most of our genes with other animals. Two percent is all that separates us from chimpanzees, and the only reason why we’re less hairy and bigger-brained is due to a tiny bit of genetic variation between us.

Humans have two less chromosomes than chimpanzees do. This is because two of our chromosomes fused into one.

So, why are humans so similar to chimpanzees? It’s likely that millions of years ago, there was one group of apes that split into two groups. One group became modern day chimpanzees and the other evolved into humans.

Another interesting theme is adaptation. Genes don’t just evolve randomly; rather, they adapt to conditions over time.

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Genome Book Summary, by Matt Ridley

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