Are we as different as we seem?

Hello all,

Namaste! All of us seem to be very different. We have brown, blue, hazel, gray, or black eyes matched up with brown, black, or white skin. We are tall, short or medium build or height. Everywhere we look we see differences, variations, and contrasts. But are we as different as we think and feel? Let us look at some biology, shall we?

  

Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, which are composed of 22 pairs of autosomes (normal chromosomes) and a pair of XX or XY (gender) chromosomes. So how similar is our DNA? Before it was thought that our genes are 99.0 to 99.9% similar. But now new research has come to light, showing that the same gene can have different copy numbers. A copy number is a phenomenon where sections of the gene are repeated and the number of repeats can be different in different individuals and population. So the same gene for a person may have two copies while another one may have five copies. The researchers found that this happens in 12% of the genome. But remember, we still have 88% similarity, which is more than half. Of course, the copy number variation is an extremely important factor in disease diagnosis and treatment.

Now let us think about our skin. Some of us have skin that is brown, black or white in color. Any idea how thick it is? Even though the skin is the largest organ of the body having an area of 22 square feet, it is only 0.5mm thick on eyelids to 4mm on the soles of our feet. So the skin is not even 1cm thick. Now ponder, how are we creating divisions among ourselves with an organ that is not even 1cm in thickness?

Let us dig even deeper than our skin. What do we find? We find muscles, bones, ligaments, blood, cells and other internal organs. Can we differentiate the muscles and bones according to the color of our skin? No! The bone of a black person looks exactly like that of a brown person. The blood of a brown person is the same color as that of a white person. Of course, we need to bring in microscopes and advanced instruments to differentiate the blood groups and DNA. But for a naked eye, blood is the same deep red color for every human being. So why are we dividing ourselves by the skin that is not even a mere centimeter in thickness?

The bust of Beethoven!

Yes, we do have differences, but should we allow those differences to dictate us? As an example, let us look at one of Beethoven's symphonies. If the whole symphony is made up of the same note, will it sound nice? To have a beautiful symphony we need different notes, textures, scales, and depth. That makes it a Beethoven symphony. Will an orchestra make sense if it contains just the violin? An orchestra becomes breathtaking and heavenly when it is made up of an ensemble of different instruments and individuals who are able to play those instruments melodiously.

There is one more point, I need to put forward. I hope many of you have heard about the field of Epigenetics. It is the study of changes in organisms due to the alteration in the expression of the genes. So, that means according to the parents we are born to, the environment we dwell in and the type of food our mother ate during pregnancy, the same genes would be expressed differently in different persons. The genes are same, but the outward manifestation or physical features become different according to whether a particular gene is turned on or off. This also emphasizes that we are much more similar than we give credence for.

So finally as summation, each of us is a beautiful piece of music with differing notes, textures, and scales. And with these unique talents, cultures, personalities, and skin colors, we make the beautiful orchestra played by the Universe. But instead of realizing and using this to our advantage and taking the world to a better place, we divide among ourselves using caste, creed, race, religion, culture, personality and other characteristics. It is high time we realized this fact and work together towards eliminating poverty, world hunger, diseases and other maladies of the world.

I wish you a good weekend and I'll see you next Friday! 😉

Note: Image made by Swaroopa. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance ; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried". 
 All rights reserved to the author (SwaroopaStargazer) and SwaroopaBlog.

To my Blog readers: As all of you know, the European Union has passed laws regarding collection of the user data. This is just to inform all my EU blog readers, I just use Google Analytics, which Google provides, to look at from where readers are reading my blogs. I also use Specific feeds to use their service for subscription. I don't collect or intend to collect user data to sell or provide to third-party applications. Regards,
SwaroopaBlog.

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog. The opinions and viewpoints shared here are that of the author/owner only. Even though the author/owner will try to research well before posting the information, the author/owner of this blog does not make any portrayal of the accuracy or correctness of the content on this blog or the links provided. The author/owner will not be liable for any omissions or inaccuracies occurred. The author/owner will not be liable for any damages or losses due to the use or display of this blog. These terms and conditions can change at any time. This blog is purely for informational purposes only.
© SwaroopaStargazer and Swaroopa, 2017.