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Originally Posted by The_Radiation_Specialist
1) I understand different species have different number of chromosomes but what do these numbers actually represent? i.e. What is the significance of Humans and hares having both 46 chromosomes?
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It has no known significance. It's just how many chunks the total nuclear DNA is broken up into, with no known effects on phenotype. It could be random.
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Originally Posted by The_Radiation_Specialist
2) If we found the DNA of, say, Isaac Newton and since thats the code that includes every instruction to build him, would it be possible to make a clone of him with current technology? With hypothetical technology?
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Current technology can't clone any human under any circumstances, or any primate for that matter, or even most other mammals. But the fact that it's been done with a few mammals is widely taken by geneticists as an indication that it is something they can figure out how to do, not something the laws of nature somehow preclude. It's generally seen as a matter of when, not if.
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Originally Posted by The_Radiation_Specialist
3) How long does it take for the environment to mutate genes so it better adapts to it? Such as some people having light skin due to lack of sunlight in those areas necessary for Vitamin D production. How does the mutation "know" which gene to alter so that the skin becomes brighter?
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There is no set rate of mutation or of selection. Both are different in different cases. For example, human body size and proportions seem to change more quickly than human skin color. But mutations do not at all know what changes to make. They just happen by accident, and then either turn out to be benecifical or not. Many mutations go in the wrong direction or go too far, but those mutations don't become very common in the population.
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Originally Posted by The_Radiation_Specialist
4) Doesn't the "few billion" bits of data that the human DNA stores seem a bit too low? I would imagine there would be way more data on how a human would function. All those cells would need a lot of instructions.
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It takes more data to fully describe a human body, or even just the brain alone, than DNA can contain. But the DNA doesn't need to contain every single detail about you. A lot of the details will instead come from interactions of your cells with each other and with the outside environment, or are just redundant copies made from a single original stored piece of information.