
09/29/2025
Humans aren’t as genetically different from other species as you might think... 🧬
Humans share about 96% of their DNA with chimpanzees, highlighting our close evolutionary relationship. We also share up to 70% of our DNA with slugs and up to 60% with bananas. This shared DNA highlights the common evolutionary threads that connect all life on Earth. However, what truly sets human DNA apart is not just the percentage of shared genes but how those genes are expressed, regulated, and combined. The small differences in our genetic code lead to profound variations in brain development, cognition, language, and complex social behavior traits that are uniquely human.
These small but critical differences enable complex brain development, advanced cognition, language, and sophisticated social behavior traits that are distinctively human. While we share much of our genetic code with other living things, it is the unique sequences and regulatory mechanisms in our genome that give rise to our creativity, abstract thinking, and ability to build complex societies. In this way, our DNA not only connects us to the natural world but also defines the qualities that make us human.