Evolution Schmevolution: DNA proves Evolution

[bailunrui]

The DNA between a man and monkey is 98.5% similar what does this mean?DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the instruction manual to life. But the bulk of it is just gibberish. And the functioning portions are in code. The code (the genes) is processed into proteins which, amazingly, create the diversity of life that there is. The code is composed of

Comments

[photosinensis]

Well, alternate genetic codes do exist: mitochondria and chloroplasts use a slightly different code than everything else.

However, the fact that outside of organelles, the genetic code is conserved (with all 20 AA's and the three stop codons accounted for by the same three-base codons), it is highly likely that life evolved from a common ancestor.

Also, tiny nitpicking point: while most of the DNA in eukaryotic cells (like those cells in you, me, my mom's dog, the plants in your backyard, the mushrooms on your salad, and the like) is non-coding, the fact is that in prokaryotes (like Escherichia coli, which lives in your lower digestive tract and helps you take care of lactose and other complex sugars, in addition to its important work as a factory for things like insulin and other protiens that we need to synthesize artificially for whatever reason and its work as a lab organism), most of the DNA does actually encode for something.

However, the conservation of pseudogenes is actually quite interesting, and is a major focus of study in evolutionary biology. Even though those genes don't express anything, they serve as a molecular clock to tell us how far back we have to go to find a common ancestor for two species.

[bailunrui]

Well, yes I know this. I just had to simplify for the laymen. :) The conservation of pseudogenes is one of the strongest arguments, imho, for evolution. That, and mitochondrial DNA, another molecular clock.

[photosinensis]

And then there are proten sequences, which serve as another molecular clock.

But what does the fact that we share 98.5% of our genetic code with chimpanzees and 3% with monkeys mean? It means that everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey.

[bailunrui]

To be honest, I'm a little skeptical of the percentage similarity presented on TDS. Humans are much more closely related to apes and gorillas than monkeys.

[photosinensis]

Well, as I corrected, the figure should be for chimpanzees, which are our closest living relatives. And to be honest, I've always been told it's actually 3% difference there and about 6% with the old-world monkeys.

Or something. I was actually just trying to insert the Beatles joke.

[ad_kay]

I just had to simplify for the laymen
And may I say, this laywoman appreciates that! :D

[bailunrui]

Glad to be of assistance! *g*