eli5 Why isnt reproduction possible between humans and animals (especially monkeys)?
In: Biology
When look at our DNA we see areas where our genes are located and they are expressed differently in all things (animal/vegetable).These are what make it unique to each species because every species is different in what our DNA will express. We don’t need gigantic necks like giraffe do, so our DNA for necks isn’t going to look the same as a giraffe. The same goes for a monkey and a person. We walk fully upright, we have special DNA that makes us do that. Monkeys don’t have that. There are many other things that are different between monkeys and humans and those things are what makes us incompatible. Our DNA is different enough that when we look at our DNA side by side with monkeys, there is too much difference. When eggs are fertilized, we get DNA from each parent. When we have too many chromosomes or not enough or the DNA in those chromosomes is too different/warped that egg won’t grow into offspring. (There are always exceptions to this like mules and people who have extra DNA or missing DNA, but they have health repercussions that are a result of that irregularity). We just don’t share enough DNA matches to be able to reproduce.
In short: Our DNA and a monkey’s DNA, while similar, is just too different for that. It’s nature’s way of making sure it creates life that can continue its species without major health defects.
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