• Question: Can you tell a persons appearance , before they're born, by using a sex cell?

    Asked by Ding to Zena on 16 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Zena Hadjivasiliou

      Zena Hadjivasiliou answered on 16 Mar 2015:

      Part of e person’s appearance depends on their parent’s DNA (I really look like my dad for example!). Our parent’s DNA was inside their sexual cells before they were joint together to form the embryo that then formed us! So in theory, by looking at the DNA inside the sperm (the male sex cell) and the egg (the female sex cell) that are going to come together to make a new person, you can tell many things about the way the new person would look like.

      But it is not always easy to determine from the DNA the exact way someone would look. Also, there are other things that affect the appearance of a person that are not linked to their DNA. For example, the life style and diet of the mother during the pregnancy can have a big impact!

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