• Question: is it true that when you are born you can breathe in water and naturally be able to swim? also, why does everyone look different?

    Asked by to Edward, Ian, Mathew, Naomi, sakshisharda on 17 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Naomi Osborne

      Naomi Osborne answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      Hi 13mjeffries!

      I’m afraid it’s not true – babies can’t breathe in water or swim.

      Everyone looks different due to different genes. You’ve inherited half your genes from your mum, and half from your dad. This means you look different from both of them. Sperm and eggs all have a different set of genes from each parent, so this is why siblings also look different – as they won’t have inherited the exact same genes as you (unless you have an identical twin of course!).

    • Photo: Sakshi Sharda

      Sakshi Sharda answered on 18 Jun 2014:

      Hi 13mjeffries

      No babies cannot swim when they are born. I would have been cool though, to make movies on swimming babies 😉

      We look different because of our genes. We get some genes from our mother and some from our father. Now, all these genes interact with each other in way that is very unique and makes each one of us look and behave different. Some genes related to our skin colour and height are also determined by which population we are born in, for example we are born of Japanese parents, it is likely that our stature will be short compared to someone from Russia for example. These are differences between different ethnicities and they have evolved that way and have some benefits.

      Our genes and environment interact in so many different way, it’s really fascinating. That is the reason even identical twins who have the same genes from parents may look similar but they never look or behave alike!

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