Khaberni - Dr. Valery Litvinov, a senior researcher at the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology of Crimean Technical University, stated that humans and cats can be considered genetically close relatives.
According to him, their DNA matches by 90 percent. The reason for this is that all living beings on Earth are descended from a single-celled ancestor.
The expert points out that primates are still the closest relatives to humans, with human and chimpanzee DNA matching by 98-99 percent.
He says: "Human DNA is 90 percent similar to the DNA of domestic cats, 85 percent with the DNA of mice, and 60 percent with the DNA of chicken. The reason is that all living organisms on Earth are descended from a single single-celled ancestor that lived about 3.5 billion years ago. For solving fundamental problems - like energy production, cell division, DNA repair, and protein synthesis - nature long ago identified the optimal genes for all living beings, and has not changed them since. Except for the regulatory regions in the DNA that change, these are what determine what will grow on a specific part of the body - like wings, fins, or arms."
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is a massive molecule, in the form of a double helix, that stores all the genetic information of a living being. It is present in the nucleus of every cell, where it is packaged into chromosomes. The exception to this includes red blood cells, or erythrocytes. The absence of a nucleus containing DNA in red blood cells prevents them from dividing, so they live only about 120 days, and must constantly be replaced with new cells from the bone marrow.
It is worth noting that if we collected all the DNA in the trillions of cells of a single person and stretched it into one continuous thread, it would be about 10 billion kilometers long. Meanwhile, the total volume of DNA from all the inhabitants of the Earth would be about the size of a small teaspoon (approximately 5 ml).
