halfhalfnhalf
halfhalfnhalf t1_isghm3t wrote
Reply to comment by Ffdmatt in When it's said 99.9% of human DNA is the same in all humans, is this referring to only coding DNA or both coding and non-coding DNA combined? by PeanutSalsa
It's not that our cells are optimally designed, it's that they are so intricate that any major deviation from the genome results in a non-viable organism.
Multi-cellular organisms are SO complex that there are extremely tight tolerances on most of their parts. A tiny deviation in one protein can mean the organism won't ever make it past fertilization. Most of those gene combinations were eliminated from the pool eons ago.
The 0.1% or whatever difference between humans is the wiggle room that can result in a viable human.
halfhalfnhalf t1_it5wj20 wrote
Reply to comment by regular_modern_girl in Why does alcohol kill bacteria, but not the cells that our bodies are composed of? by Chairman_Mittens
Yup as with pretty much everything in existance, the root square law is king.