I note the obvious differences / in the human family, begins Maya Angelou in her poem, Human Family. Some of us are serious, / some thrive on comedy. She goes on: Ive sailed upon the seven seas / and stopped in every land, / Ive seen the wonders of the world / not yet one common man. Yet she finishes: I note the obvious differences / between each sort and type, / but we are more alike, my friends / than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends, / than we are unalike.
Thats not a message we hear a lot of these days. If Ive learned anything from the recent election, its that weve come to a world where the sheer ubiquity of demonization, to quote President-Elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.s Nov. 7 address, has prevented us from seeing those who disagree with us as human beings, let alone alike. Theyre people, too, but weve seemed to forget that.
But what are we trying to get out of all of this moralizing, accusation, and condescension? The election has finished. Now that the match is over and the court lights are being switched off, how should we think about that other side? We cant just denigrate and dehumanize those with whom we dont agree and still expect them to listen to and understand the changes we want to see. We have to listen to them in turn. And to do that, we have to acknowledge that behind every red and blue are human beings, too. Its what Biden said in his address: We are not enemies. We are Americans. Its what Maya Angelou said in her poem, that we are more alike [] than we are unalike. And if we look inside ourselves, well find this to be true.
Because we are indeed more alike than we are unalike, scientifically as well as philosophically. What makes us us, from a biological standpoint, are our genes: stretches of DNA, double helices usually coiled up tight in the nuclei of our cells. DNA is made up of nucleotide base pairs, adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine, the building blocks of the genetic code that tells our cellular machinery what kind of proteins to produce. In the mid-nineteenth century, long before we knew what genes or DNA were, an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel grew forests of purple and white pea plants to speculate that parents might pass down different flavors of a trait to their children. A hundred and fifty years later, we know that Mendel was onto something, and thus the complicated field of genetics was born.
If we consider a gene to be a potentially million base-pair long segment of DNA, then what makes each individual human unique is that across all the 25,000 or so genes that together comprise the human genome, the sequence for no two humans is exactly the same. A combination of inherited differences and random mutations, each humans genome can be thought of as a DNA fingerprint, driving the wealth of diversity that creates human genetic variation.
Most genetic variation results from SNPs pronounced snips or single nucleotide polymorphisms. A SNP is basically a one-base-pair differential between two given variants of a gene, an A instead of a G, for example. That tiny alteration in the genetic code can change one particular Lego block in the massive protein structure that that gene encodes, which then in turn keeps our cells and bodies running. Most of the time, the SNP has no effect on protein function; sometimes, it can have deleterious consequences; and sometimes, it just changes the trait, like the SNP that encodes lactase persistence as opposed to our ancestral lactose intolerance. Often, countless SNPs occur for a given set of genes; thats how we get the rainbow of traits we know as humanity.
Never have we known more about the millions of SNPs in the human genome than we do now. The first sequencing of the human genome in 2000, a beacon of scientific global collaboration, gave us our first base-pair reference for the genetic code. And in 2015, the 1000 Genomes Project found that across thousands of sequenced genomes of 3 billion base pairs each, from 26 different human populations, only 0.6 percent of base pairs differed by various SNPs.
In other words, we are greater than 99 percent genetically similar to our neighbor, no matter what ethnicity or gender or culture they may be. This fact runs so radically contrary to the divisiveness with which weve considered different cultures and populations throughout history a satisfying scientific repudiation to twentieth-century race science. In our biology, we are far, far more alike than we are unalike.
Theres one more aspect of Maya Angelous poem that I didnt appreciate until just now. The poem doesnt say that we are more alike than we are different; it says that we are more alike than we are unalike. In fact, most of Human Family is an appreciation of the obvious differences between people, treating difference as specifically not the antonym of alikeness. Its just like biology: We are all different, with our eye color and hair color and other SNPs that make up our DNA fingerprint, but we as humans are 99 percent alike.
We are all Americans, as Joe Biden said. We have our spectrum of differences, but we cant let those spiral into demonization, dissociating us from each other. We as Americans and as humans are fundamentally more alike than we are unalike, and we need to establish that as a baseline in politics going forward.
Tessa K.J. Haining 23 lives in Adams House. Her column appears on alternate Fridays.
See more here:
Differences, Demonization, and DNA | Opinion - Harvard Crimson
- 1st draft of a human 'pangenome' published, adding millions of ... - May 17th, 2023
- A Brief Guide to Genomics - National Human Genome Research Institute - May 17th, 2023
- Human genetics - Immunogenetics | Britannica - April 23rd, 2023
- A Troublesome Inheritance - Wikipedia - April 23rd, 2023
- Human - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - January 29th, 2023
- Human Genetics and Genomics Training Program - Hopkins Medicine - January 4th, 2023
- Genetics vs. Genomics Fact Sheet - Genome.gov - December 18th, 2022
- Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, PhD - Johns Hopkins University - December 18th, 2022
- Race (human categorization) - Wikipedia - December 2nd, 2022
- Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup - Wikipedia - November 24th, 2022
- Abstracts | International Congress of Human Genetics 2023 - November 24th, 2022
- Human genetic variation - Wikipedia - November 6th, 2022
- Genetics | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program - October 29th, 2022
- Fluent BioSciences showcasing breakthrough solutions to enable unprecedented scale, cost-efficiency and access for single-cell RNA sequencing at the... - October 29th, 2022
- Researchers seek to unravel the mystery of susceptibility to drug addiction - Newswise - October 4th, 2022
- NIH initiative to systematically investigate and establish function of every human gene - National Institutes of Health (.gov) - October 4th, 2022
- ANGPTL7, a therapeutic target for increased intraocular pressure and glaucoma | Communications Biology - Nature.com - October 4th, 2022
- Does obesity have more to do with the brain than we initially thought? - Medical News Today - October 4th, 2022
- Who will get the call from Stockholm? It's time for STAT's 2022 Nobel Prize predictions - STAT - October 4th, 2022
- Solving medical mysteries: Physicians and researchers collaborate to study the most challenging cases - AAMC - October 4th, 2022
- Mystery gene matures the skeleton of the cell - EurekAlert - October 4th, 2022
- What Is The Most Important factor Driving The Global Human Genetics Market? - PharmiWeb.com - September 25th, 2022
- How Africa's genetic diversity can be harnessed to close the continent's 'drug and treatment gap' - Genetic Literacy Project - September 25th, 2022
- Ability to move to the pulse of music has genetic link - DTNEXT - September 25th, 2022
- Is the Spike Protein Changing Our Gene Expression? - The Epoch Times - September 25th, 2022
- How prehistoric DNA is helping to unlock the secrets of human evolution - EL PAS USA - September 25th, 2022
- Personalised medicine and the advantages of big data and AI-based diagnostics - Medical Device Network - September 25th, 2022
- Viewpoint: In the post Roe v Wade world, what changes should a biology textbook writer make to address the medical repercussions of Dobbs? - Genetic... - September 25th, 2022
- Bears' ability to regulate insulin narrowed down to eight proteins WSU Insider - WSU News - September 25th, 2022
- Sex, Selection and Biodiversity - Syracuse.edu - Syracuse University - September 25th, 2022
- Was the Russian Flu the first coronavirus pandemic? Find out at next Science Caf - University of Nebraska at Kearney - September 25th, 2022
- University of Chicago South Side Science Fest created to show off the fun, myriad pathways into field. - Chicago Tribune - September 25th, 2022
- The genetics of human personality - PubMed - August 14th, 2022
- Genetics - The Harvey Institute for Human Genetics - GBMC HealthCare in ... - August 14th, 2022
- Degrees of the Future 2022: Genetics - Gizmodo - August 14th, 2022
- U of U Health-Led Research Awarded $28 Million to Explore HIV's Inner Workings and Vulnerabilities - University of Utah Health Care - August 14th, 2022
- Revisiting Companies That Had Their IPO in 2018 - Investment U - August 14th, 2022
- Monkeypox Myth Busting: Here's What You Need to Know - The Mighty - August 14th, 2022
- Relay Therapeutics Reports Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results and Corporate Highlights - Yahoo Finance - August 5th, 2022
- Baylor receives NCI grant to study liver cancer risk and prevention - Baylor College of Medicine News - August 5th, 2022
- Whole Exome Sequencing Market reach a valuation of US$ 4,256.30 Mn, at a CAGR of 19.24% in the Forecast 2030 - BioSpace - August 5th, 2022
- Mendels Genetic Revolution and the Legacy of Scientific Racism - NewsClick - August 5th, 2022
- AMGEN TO ACQUIRE CHEMOCENTRYX FOR $4 BILLION IN CASH - BioSpace - August 5th, 2022
- Cotton Buds Market Value Is Estimated to Reach USD 747.16 BN By 2028, With 3.2% CAGR Credence Research - Digital Journal - August 5th, 2022
- Verve Therapeutics Shares Up 84%; ARKG Offers Exposure - ETFdb.com - July 27th, 2022
- Double up on the guac? Those avocados are good for your heart health - American Heart Association - July 27th, 2022
- Extending the PAX1 spectrum: a dominantly inherited variant causes oculo-auriculo-vertebral syndrome | European Journal of Human Genetics - Nature.com - July 27th, 2022
- Scientists Unravel the Mystery of Junk Genes That Are Key to Brain Development - SciTechDaily - July 27th, 2022
- COVID-19 Can Make the Brain Age by 2 Decades; Here's 1 Way to Reverse Aging - The Epoch Times - July 27th, 2022
- Mice Model Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type, Service, Technology, Indication, End User, Application, and Mode -... - July 27th, 2022
- Master's Degree in Human Genetics | Human Genetics | Michigan Medicine ... - July 11th, 2022
- Here's how the $100 Human Genome will Change Medicine - BioSpace - July 11th, 2022
- Genomic medicine: the role of the nursing workforce - Nursing Times - July 11th, 2022
- AbbVie Half Breaks Up with Alector on Alzheimer's - BioSpace - July 11th, 2022
- The human identification market size is projected to reach - GlobeNewswire - July 11th, 2022
- Global wheat production can be doubled to feed millions and save land, say scientists - Sky News - July 11th, 2022
- Huntsville native among TIMEs 100 most influential people - WHNT News 19 - July 3rd, 2022
- New hope for IVF patients as global study published in Human Reproduction shows AI can effectively assess genetic integrity of embryos - Yahoo Finance - July 3rd, 2022
- A Week At The Most Secretive Conference On Aging - Forbes - July 3rd, 2022
- Human genetics shape the gut microbiome - PMC - June 13th, 2022
- expert reaction to a conference abstract on retinal screening predicting risk of myocardial infarction - Science Media Centre - June 13th, 2022
- New Comprehensive Map Ties Every Human Gene to Its Function - SciTechDaily - June 13th, 2022
- Buffalo shooters manifesto quoted a university researcher. Thats raising questions about racism in academia - Yahoo News - June 13th, 2022
- Thalidomide could be used as a therapeutic for AVMs - Cosmos - June 13th, 2022
- How Electric Fish Were Able to Evolve Electric Organs - UT News - University of Texas - June 4th, 2022
- Survival of the Best: The Past, Present and Future of Plants - CSRwire.com - June 4th, 2022
- AMGEN ANNOUNCES WEBCAST OF 2022 JEFFERIES HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE | News | wfmz.com - 69News WFMZ-TV - June 4th, 2022
- Experts Discover New Disease Caused by Faulty Genes Affecting the Kidney and Liver: Newcastle University Study - Nature World News - June 4th, 2022
- At-Home Colorectal Cancer Testing and Follow-Up Vary by Ethnicity - Medscape - June 4th, 2022
- Who is your real parent? Our Father on Netflix depicts the dark side of 'secret serial sperm donation'. My birth has a similar origin but with a more... - June 4th, 2022
- Autism and the complete human genome: Q&A with Evan Eichler | Spectrum - Spectrum - May 15th, 2022
- Increased Mutations in Children Can Be Traced Back to Mistakes in Father's Sperm - Neuroscience News - May 15th, 2022
- Not All Is Rosy For The Pink Pigeon - Eurasia Review - May 15th, 2022
- Why haven't we cloned a human yet? - Livescience.com - May 15th, 2022
- Study probes the relationship between genetics, proteins, and disease risk - The Hub at Johns Hopkins - May 15th, 2022
- Singular Genomics Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board - BioSpace - May 15th, 2022
- COVID Resistance Might Be Tied To Genetics: Experts - Medical Daily - May 15th, 2022
- Letter: Why no to Roe and abortion - INFORUM - May 15th, 2022
- Gut Microbiome Composition Predictive of Patient Response to Statins - Business Wire - May 15th, 2022
- Finding A Place In Science - Texas A&M Today - Texas A&M University Today - May 15th, 2022