20 Incredible Facts About DNA & Genes You Must Know

A 2003 study found evidence that Genghis Khan’s DNA is present in about 16 million men alive today. However, an article from 2015 claims that ten other men left genetic legacies so huge they rival Genghis Khan's.

A family of people with blue skin lived in Kentucky for many generations. The Fugates of Troublesome Creek are thought to have gained their blue skin through combination of inbreeding and a rare genetic condition known as methemoglobinemia.

People on the Solomon Islands have a gene named TYRP1 that causes blonde hair, despite their dark skin. This gene is unrelated to the one that causes blondeness in European peoples and evolved independently.

Some people have a gene mutation that makes them less likely to enjoy marijuana. Those with a variant FAAH gene are less anxious and are less inclined to like marijuana. They actually experience a decrease in happiness when smoking marijuana.

The gene for having six fingers is a dominant trait.

The genome of modern humans contains the DNA from four different hominid ancestors: homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and a fourth species that has yet to be discovered.

There are 45 genes which the human species has likely 'stolen' from other species, such as worms, fruit flies and bacteria. They have not simply been passed on from our primitive ancestors. Instead, they have jumped directly into the human genome in the last couple of million years.

Only about 22% of humans have the genes necessary to smell “asparagus pee.”

The HERC2 gene mutation found in people with blue eyes is presumed to have only happened once, which means that all blue-eyed humans share a single common ancestor from which the mutation originated.

There is a mutated gene possessed by about half of the population that prevents a person from tasting the bitter-tasting chemical used to grow Brussels sprouts. If a person does not possess this gene they can taste the chemical, thus making them much more likely to dislike Brussels sprouts.