If humans have 46 chromosomes and Downies have 47 are they actually human?

submitted by yibba from self.AskSaidIt

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[–]raven9 7 insightful - 2 fun7 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

They don't have non human dna. Something goes wrong during cell division and they end up with an extra copy of chromosome 21.

[–]russkayacabbage 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

This is pretty much how eugenics was/is pushed. They're not actually human, so you don't have to actually care about them. A single expressive mutation does not make you a non-human (but a whole bunch together to create an x-man might be questionable, I suppose)

[–]jet199 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That's not at all how eugenics was pushed.

It was about creating a healthier population.

But of course people were mostly unhealthy due to their environment so it didn't help.

[–][deleted] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

If humans have two legs and someone is born with an extra leg are they no longer human?

[–]jerkwad152 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Sure. The difference between someone with Down Syndrome and a regular person is nothing compared to the difference between them and the next smartest species.

[–]IkeConn 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Is a mule a horse? Is a monkey a human? Is a cow a Big Mac?

[–]monkeymagic 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

no