Same DNA Different Cells

Weekly I/O#26


If almost all the cells in one's body have the same DNA, then why don't all cells look the same?

Article: DNA Basics

When talking with my friend about fasting and autophagy, I just came up with this question that may have appeared in my middle school (or high school) biology exam.

DNA is what genes are made of. Genes store all the information needed for creating us. And approximately, we humans have between 20,000 and 25,000 genes in almost all our cells.

A gene must be turned on (expressed) to utilize the information, and the information will be turned into useful proteins. For a cell to work, a certain amount of proteins must be produced. Therefore, our eyes and lungs are different since different sets of proteins are made in the various eye and lung cells.


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