eli5: When scientists say that humans share a certain percentage of our genes with another species (chimpanzees, bananas, whatever), what actual genes do we have in common, or is that in the “we’restill figuring that out” part of science?
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Most of what we share is the nuts and bolts of being a living organism. For example, most animals have to share the same (or similar) genes for initiating cell division.
When scientists say that genes are “similar,” they really mean “these genes in humans have a similar counterpart in another organism.”
In that sense, it’s not shocking that we share 60% of our genes with bananas. You’d expect organisms with multiple cells to share a lot of the same basic machinery for making cell membranes and stuff.
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