Six Degrees of Worm Separation.

• Position: New research on number of human genes - Brief Article

What do you have in common with corn? The number of your genes.

OK, that joke may be corny, but it's true. In two studies released last month, scientists say the human genome, the DNA instructions on how to make a person, consists of only about 30,000 genes, not the 100,000 previously estimated. That's the same number as corn, and it gives humans a distressingly small genetic edge over the 19,000-gene roundworm and 13,000-gene fruit fly.

Scientists are diving into the genome to find out how our genes work...