Scientific theory suggests that a person's cells are all genetically the same. Researchers at Yale University spent two years trying disprove this hypothesis. They compared stem cells to skin cells and found that humans are made up of cells with many different genomes. They also discovered that a percentage of skin cells contain variations that were assumed to only occur in the case of disease. It is possible that these variations could be found in other parts of the body.
The results of this study have significant meaning for genetic analysis. Currently, only blood samples are used, but that blood may not reflect the DNA found in the brain or in other parts of the body.
This study is very interesting in that it means that because we have been using blood for genetic analysis, there are may be things about the human genome that we do not know. For example, mutations that we have not yet seen.
It is very interesting that all cells do not contain the same genes! This fact was drilled into my brain ever since the first mention of mitosis! It is amazing how much we assume to make everything make sense in our world.
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