Mondo Knows Facts
All human DNA combined would reach across the solar system
Trillions of cells containing two metres of DNA each span billions of kilometres
If all the DNA strands present in an adult human's 37 trillion cells were linked end to end, the total length would exceed 60 billion kilometres. That is long enough to stretch from Earth to the Sun and back over 200 times.
Where this comes from
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Tags: dna, genetics, length
All human DNA combined would reach across the solar system: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Trillions of cells containing two metres of DNA each span billions of kilometres. The figure is taken from Natural History Museum, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a human body fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.
