Humans are 50% banana, according to research
Hard skin, mushy insides… sounds about right, doesn’t it? I’m sure it rings especially true for the jaundice-born amongst us. Yes, according to the human genome sequence, first introduced in 2003, our DNA is a 50% match with our fruity friends, the humble banana.
So, wait, 50%… does that mean I’m just as related to a banana as I am to my own mother? Well, not exactly. The idea comes from the analysis of amino acids within a small number of genes. What this figure means is that half of the genes in our bodies have some common ground with bananas; for example, both human and fruit have a gene that codes for reproduction, but these aren’t necessarily a complete DNA match.
In fact, the 50% is really only an analysis of the DNA that codes for proteins in your body, which in reality make up about 2% of you. The other 98% of human DNA is gene-regulatory regions and non-functional ‘junk DNA’ — essentially dead genes that exist with no purpose since evolution ruled them redundant. Poor dead genes. But, in reality, this means we only actually share 2% of the 50%, which if you have some top maths skills, you may have figured out is 1%. Unsurprisingly, the scary titles that suggest we are half potassium-based-snack are somewhat clickbait (sorry).
Although it is still interesting that we should share 50% of these amino acid-producing genes with bananas. Over time, humans have evolved and yet the way we grow, reproduce and sustain life is fundamentally in line with how bananas do it. Humans actually share the DNA with lots of different plants, to varying degrees. In fact, all living organisms share the same codes in different orders — we all stem from a billion-year-old single-celled life form, which then mutated to create species. Pretty cool right?
So, next time you’re having an existential crisis, put it into perspective. At your core (see what I did there?) you’re just a piece of fruit, trying to make it in the fruit bowl of life.
