- It's been said that we're a mixture of our parents,
every trait coming directly from one of them
as they define who we are.
But what if I told you that that isn't exactly true?
This is Myths You Still Believe, the series all about
explaining the truth behind the
most commonly believed myths.
Today we're putting the microscope
on all things that we thought we knew about genetics
and exposing the truth behind many
common pieces of misinformation.
So without further ado, here are
We've all heard it before, "Ooh, they got good genes"
or "Oh they got that from their mom",
suggesting that that family has something different
within their genetics that differs from others.
Well the truth is that we all have the same
20,000 protein coding gene set.
It's only genetic variations within and around those genes
that creates our individual differences.
Sometimes it's just luck of the draw, which is why
you'll often hear how beautiful people
have won the genetic lottery.
Now it is possible for someone to be born
without a specific gene, but that is extremely rare
and it's called a genetic deletion event.
Let's say your grandfather has a certain trait or disease
that you have as well but it seems to
have skipped your parents.
That kind of phenomenon has led to a
widespread myth that some traits skip a generation.
The truth is while some diseases and traits
appear to skip a generation, in actuality
there are absolutely none that do.
The quote/unquote skip can actually be
attributed to defective copies of genes
within your grandfather matching with
normal copies of genes in your grandmother,
making your direct parent a carrier of the trait
but not actually affected by it.
But if your other parent has those defective genes
then you will have a high chance, when born,
of being affected by that trait or disease, tricky genes.
If you've ever seen a daytime talk show about paternity
or a movie about a young woman coming
face to face with her absent father for the first time
you've likely heard of this myth.
The notion is that someone can recognize a relative
solely based on a feature that they share, eye color
hair color, or maybe even a facial twitch or allergy.
Now while some physical appearances do have a genetic
basis, it's not something that is a definite giveaway.
Take the eyes for example, you could be born
with the same blue eyes your father has
but like many developing infants, your eye color can
actually change in the first few months of your life,
potentially leaving you with a pair of brown eyes
that oddly resemble the mailman.
Hmm, mama got some 'xplainin' to do.
Speaking of debunking myths involving
physical similarities between parents and children,
here's an interesting one for you.
If your parents are both left handed
then you'll be left handed, right?
Well, not necessarily.
In fact, there's only a one in four chance
of you being left handed regardless of your parents.
According to Dr. Chris McManus
from the University College London,
the concept of handedness is a common misconception.
In a study involving 70,000 children
he concluded that if both parents are right handed,
there is a nine percent chance that they will
still have a left handed child and a 19 percent chance
if one of them is already a leftie.
So your parents being left handed does
increase your chances of being so too,
but it does not definitely determine it.
This myth says that all mutations in your genetic code
are one hundred percent bad for you
and while it's true that mutations gained from
exposure to viruses, radiation and certain chemicals
can cause damage to your immune system,
not to mention those inherited directly from your parents,
few are actually harmful.
In fact, many mutations can actually benefit you.
Now I'm not talking about the kind of X-Men style mutation
that transforms you into a superhero,
though in a way mutations can make you a
better than average human being.
For instance, there are mutations that can
make your body more resilient,
increasing your ability to fight off disease
or even make you immune to specific infections and viruses.
Popular science, dramatic TV shows and movies
tell us that defects or mutations in genes happen
because of exposure to radioactive materials, chemicals
or because we're not taking care of our bodies enough.
Ah but this is yet another lie that we believe,
mostly because of the media.
Often when we find out that there's a
genetic disease in our family, we often start searching for
environmental reasons that disease originally got there.
Exposure to certain elements can damage our DNA
but this is very unlikely to create health issues
we pass along to our offspring unless
you're pregnant at the time of exposure.
Generally genetic diseases most often stem from random
errors our cells experience while processing copying DNA.
This myth may very well be the most surprising on the list,
and yet with a better understanding of how
genetics work, can be the most obvious.
It claims that if you have an illness that
nobody else in your family tree has,
it must mean that what you have is not hereditary
and thus not genetically passed.
But the truth is, even without a family history
of your illness, it's very possible that that illness
or disease laid dormant in your parents' genetic make up.
That is, of course, until it made an appearance in you.
There have been many cases of two parents,
each harboring a single defective gene inside of them.
When they procreate their individual defective genes
are both potentially passed to the child,
creating a recessive disorder, causing you to
be sick with the genetic disease
And now my friends you're just
a little bit smarter, giddy up.
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Thank you all so much for watching
and I will see you soon, peace, bye!