Science

Judi Lynn

(160,515 posts) Fri Jun 26, 2020, 03:58 PM Jun 2020

15 Quick Science Facts that Will Blow Your Mind

There is enough DNA in an average person's body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back -- 17 times. More science facts after the jump.

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu September 7, 2019 in Feature Post

Why don’t more people appreciate science? Personally, I believe it has something to do with science communication and the way we teach science in our schools.

With this in mind, here are a couple amazing scientific facts that I hope will inspire you to learn something new every day — they’ve certainly done so for me. However, this list is much too short; keep it growing by adding your own science facts in the comments section.

1. There is enough DNA in the average person’s body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back — 17 times

The human genome (the genetic code in each human cell) contains 23 DNA molecules (called chromosomes), each containing from 500,000 to 2.5 million nucleotide pairs. DNA molecules of this size are 1.7 to 8.5 cm long when uncoiled — about 5 cm on average. There are about 37 trillion cells in the human body, so if you were to uncoil all of the DNA encased in each cell and place the molecules end to end, it would sum to a total length of 2×1014 meters — enough for 17 Pluto round-trips (the distance from the sun to Pluto and then back again is 1.2×1013 meters). As an added bonus, you should know that we each share 99% of our DNA with every other human — just to show that we’re far more alike than different.

More:
https://www.zmescience.com/other/feature-post/10-quick-scientific-facts-will-blow-mind/