Look around you: no two people are exactly alike. But believe it or not, we all share 99.9% of the same DNA.

So what makes us individuals? Genetically speaking, our differences stem from occasional variations in the A, T, G, and C bases of our DNA. Just a tiny percentage—0.1%—of the code accounts for our unique genetic identity, everything from eye color to predisposition to certain diseases.

Even just 0.1% variation is significant, considering that the human genome consists of more than 3 billion pairs of bases. That tiny percentage is actually a lot of DNA—more than 3 million differences. Additionally, much of our individuality has nothing to do with genes and instead develops from our unique experiences.

The Only Race Is Human Race

No Biological Basis for Race

New data from the mapping of the human genome reveal that all humans are incredibly similar-in fact, we are 99.9% genetically identical. We are all members of one species, Homo sapiens. Scientists have confirmed, as they long suspected, that there is no genetic or biological basis for race.

Genetic variation between people within the same "racial" group can be greater than the variation between people of two different groups. Many people of African descent are no more similar to other Africans than they are to Caucasians. Genetic distinctions between Asians and Caucasians are less pronounced than those between groups from, for example, parts of East and West Africa.

No matter how scientists today scrutinize a person's genes, they can't determine with certainty whether an individual is from one "racial" group or another. Differences of culture and society distinguish one group from another, but these distinctions are not rooted in biology.

"Mapping the DNA sequence variation in the human genome holds the potential for promoting the fundamental unity of all humankind." —Dr. Harold P. Freeman

Family Ties

Any two unrelated people are 99.9% genetically alike. Any two related people are even more similar. That's because children inherit DNA from their parents, half from the mother and half from the father, generation after generation. The closer the family relationship, the more similar the genetic code.