If Orangutan’s share 97% of their DNA with humans, how are we so radically different?

Question

What goes on in that 3% it DNA, and what similarities do we share in the 97%?

In: Biology

Answer 1

We share roughly [50% of our DNA with a parent, or a sibling](https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212170668-Average-Percent-DNA-Shared-Between-Relatives).

We share roughly [50% of our DNA with a banana](https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/how_genetically_related_are_we_to_bananas).

We share roughly [99% of our DNA with a chimpanzee](https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/human-origins/understanding-our-past/dna-comparing-humans-and-chimps).

We share, some of us, roughly [1.5% of our DNA with a Neanderthal](https://www.science.org/content/article/neanderthal-dna-you-carry-may-have-surprisingly-little-impact-your-looks-moods).

These “shared DNA” statistics are wildly inconsistent.

Unless we very carefully consider the different meanings what “shared DNA” is, with the very different meanings leading to wildly contradictory results, the phrase means nothing.