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Finally! I wondered how people actually know that the genetic code is the same in every cell. How would you prove that? What if everyone is a chimera to some ex
by zkhalique 11y ago
Finally! I wondered how people actually know that the genetic code is the same in every cell. How would you prove that? What if everyone is a chimera to some extent? We are just getting started understanding epigenetics.
- searine 11y agoThis study doesn't address genetics. Rather it is measure amounts of soluble blood proteins. For all intents and purposes, your DNA is the same in every cell. We know this because we can pool DNA from multiple cells and sequence them. We see orders of magnitude more variation from sequencing error than true intra-isolate nucleotide variation. Yes epigenetics exists, and it influences our development and habits, but it's not going to change the content of your DNA.
- tosseraccount 11y agoIt's not the same. Telomeric regions shrink over time. Viruses inject their own dna code into the host genomes. Minor damage piles up over the years.
- arosenfeld 11y agoBeyond even random changes and telomeres shrinking, VDJ recombination actively splices genes from B-cells and somatic hypermutation further modifies certain regions. Sampling two B-cells that share a common ancestor will likely have some genomic differences.