Your Genetic Inheritance

The genetic lottery shapes every life:

• Two parents can produce over 70 trillion chromosome combinations, before crossover adds even more.
• Siblings share only about 50 percent of their DNA, so brothers and sisters can differ sharply.
• Everyone carries roughly 100 broken genes, usually masked by a healthy backup copy.
• Sickle cell shows the tradeoff: one copy guards against malaria, two cause disease.
• Big traits like height ride on thousands of genes, which makes precise prediction tough.