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#HumanGenetics

#DNAvsChimps

#BiologicalEvolution

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00:00The truth behind the 99% for decades.
00:04We've been told that humans and chimpanzees share 99% of our DNA.
00:09This figure, while striking, is misleading.
00:12This popular cultural assertion ignores a far more complex and fascinating scientific truth.
00:19To understand it, we need to break down the number.
00:21DNA is a code of 3 billion letters, A, C, G, and T.
00:27Early research compared the most similar parts of our genetic code
00:30and found that, on average, only 1 out of every 100 letters was different,
00:35giving us that 99% similarity.
00:38However, this method left out a crucial part of the story.
00:42Experts like David Housler from the University of California, Santa Cruz,
00:46and Tomas Marksbont from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology
00:49point out that this figure ignores entire sections of our genomes,
00:53about 15% to 20%, that have no direct counterpart in chimpanzees.
00:59These are areas where DNA was inserted or deleted over the course of evolution.
01:04By including these regions, the actual genetic difference expands significantly.
01:09In fact, more recent studies suggest the difference between humans and chimpanzees
01:14is closer to 10% or even more.
01:17A 2025 study, for example, found a 15% difference,
01:21and the gap doesn't just exist between species.
01:25The genetic variability among chimpanzees themselves can be as high as 9%,
01:29a fact that highlights how complex these comparisons are.
01:33So, if we share most of our genes,
01:35where do the differences that make us so distinct lie?
01:39Surprisingly, they are not in the genes that make proteins,
01:42but in what's called non-coding DNA, which makes up 98% of our genome.
01:46Think of it as an identical toolkit for both chimpanzees and humans.
01:51The tools are the same, but the instructions for using them are different.
01:55Within this vast non-coding DNA are regulatory regions that act as switches.
02:00These switches control how, when, and where genes are activated.
02:05A small change in one of these switches can have a ripple effect,
02:08resulting in major differences in gene expression and ultimately in physical traits.
02:12This is why a subtle variation in DNA sequence can lead us to be a bipedal species,
02:18with less body hair and a larger brain,
02:21while chimpanzees, with the same toolkit, develop their own characteristics.
02:26In conclusion, while the evolutionary relationship between humans and chimpanzees is undeniable,
02:33the belief in 99% genetic similarity oversimplifies reality.
02:37The crucial differences are not a matter of the quantity of genes, but of how they are used.
02:43As expert Katie Pollard noted, we share the same building blocks,
02:46but we use them in very different ways to build a human or a chimpanzee.
02:51Money Explore.
02:52Money Explore.
02:52Money Explore.
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