10 Simple Questions That Still Totally Baffle Scientists

6. What Makes Us Human?

This sounds like a weirdly philosophical question for a scientist, but it sort of has to be, as there's nothing really in our DNA that makes us special. We share 90% of our DNA with chimpanzees and even 50% with bananas. Seeing as you are reading this, you're probably not a banana, so there must be something else that makes us humans. We are, on a genetic level, nothing to write home about, and yet we've managed to create language, tools and culture. We've invented everything from spacecraft to fire to Pot Noodles and we have a capacity for cooperation, communication and creativity that hasn't been observed anywhere else in the animal kingdom.

Some think that it's out big brains (although they're not actually the biggest), some think that its our culture and some think that it can even be traced back to the invention of fire. These are all valid answers, but there's nothing in our biology to indicate that we should be better at these things than, say, a ferret or, indeed, a banana.

Seeing as there is no Banana Empire (yet), it stands to reason that there's something special about humans but DNA, the thing than underpins all life on Earth, isn't it.