Why do all cells have the same DNA but different functions
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Despite of the fact that all cells have the same genome, not all the genes contained in the cell nuclei are functional. During embryonic development, cells are subjected constantly to division and differentiation processes; this means that in the earliest stages of embryonic development, each cell of the embryo can form, by itself, a new complete body. However, these cells loose their ability of "all-forming" as the embryonic development progresses and they become able to form only certain group of tissues. Lately, they would be only able to form just one type of tissue. Show All these cells have, obviously, the same genes, but what makes a cell of early stages of embryo development (stem cell) different from another of the body if they have the same genes? The answer is that although they have identical genes, differentiated cells use less genes than a stem cells would use. For this reason, only a certain number of genes of the total that a differentiated cell contains, are in use. A neuron, for example, wouldn't need a gene that produces hair protein because simply, its function isn't that, so neurons inactivate the gene of hair-producing. There is much more to investigate and to research in this field because many questions still remain without answer such as how cells acquire certain shapes and not other or how do they form perfect 3D organized shapes (tissues and organs) and much more question in this way. August 15, 2018 | Written by Monica May We learned in biology class that every cell in the body has the same DNA. Whether a heart cell, skin cell or muscle cell—they all read from the same genetic blueprint. Now, scientists are learning there is more to the story. New research into brain cells is revealing that their DNA blueprint is radically different than expected. Compared to DNA in other cells, neurons have more, less and rearranged DNA. And these changes accumulate over time.  potentially contributing to age-related brain disorders. Jerold Chun, M.D., Ph.D., professor and senior vice president of Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), is pioneering research into this phenomenon, called genomic mosaicism. Due to his expertise, he was recently selected by a leading scientific journal to write an overview of the latest research on the topic. We caught up with Chun and asked, “What are three things we should know about genomic mosaicism in the brain?” Below are his answers.
Unlocking the secrets of genomic mosaicism in the brain has the power to change textbooks and, more important, people’s lives. The underlying cause of many brain disorders—Alzheimer’s, autism, schizophrenia and more—may lie in the surprising scrambling of our brains’ DNA. To receive updates on this science and more discoveries from SBP, subscribe to our monthly newsletter. Related PostsJerold Chun
genomic mosaicismneuroscienceWhy are cells different if they have the same DNA?These cells are different because they use the same set of genes differently. So even though each of our cells has the same 20,000 or so genes, each cell can select which ones it wants to “turn on” and which ones it wants to keep “turned off”.
Why do different cells have different functions?Cells of various types have different functions because cell structure and function are closely related. It is apparent that a cell that is very thin is not well suited for a protective function. Bone cells do not have an appropriate structure for nerve impulse conduction.
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