Genetics Facts

If your DNA was stretched out it would reach to the moon 6,000 times.

The costliest cat ever is named Little Nicky, who cost his owner $50,000. He is a clone of an older cat.

The most expensive cow in the world was sold $1.3 million.

Blue eyes are a genetic mutation. Before the mutation occured, all humans had brown eyes.

Identical twins do not have identical fingerprints.

Scotland has the highest percentage of redheads in the world, with around 13% of the population sporting fiery locks.

One litter of kittens can be produced by more than one father.

All Humans Are 99.9% Genetically Identical and 98.4% of human genes are the same as the genes of a chimpanzee.

While widely misunderstood, the inheritance of dwarfism is a stark roll of the genetic dice. For individuals with achondroplasia, the most common form, each child faces a 50% chance of inheriting the condition, rather than simply being 'normal sized' or 'normal heighted'.

While 7 men in 100 have some form of color blindness, only 1 woman in 1,000 suffers from it.

When two sets of identical twins marry each other and have children, those children are legally cousins but genetically full siblings, sharing about 50% of their DNA.

Redheads require more anesthesia to 'go under' than other hair colors do.

The Chow Chow and Chinese Shar-Pei are the only two dog breeds that require a solid blue-black tongue as part of their official breed standard.

Male monkeys lose the hair on their heads in the same way men do.

There is a family with a genetic condition that makes their skin blue, who have been isolated in rural Kentucky for generations.

The world's first genetically-engineered bioluminescent (glow-in-the-dark) house plants have been created and could eventually be used as a functional light source.

Ingrown toenails can be hereditary, as genetic factors like nail curvature, nail thickness, and foot shape can increase an individual's predisposition to developing them.

Only about 2% of the world population has green eyes.

Only 2% of the worlds population is blonde.

Scientists recognize at least six distinct types of twins beyond just identical and fraternal: Mirror-Image twins (reversed features), Half-Identical/Polar Body twins (share 75% DNA), Superfecundation twins (different fathers), and Superfetation twins (conceived weeks apart).

Only 2% of the Earth's population are natural redheads.

There's a breed of cat called Munchkin and they have tiny legs.

Blonde hair is not exclusive to Europeans. Melanesians of the south Pacific evolved a different gene for blonde hair.

The Vadoma people of Zimbabwe have a high prevalence of ectrodactyly, a genetic condition that gives some members two-toed feet, earning them the nickname 'ostrich people'.