Move over, Big Ben—there’s a new giant in town! 🏙️ A pint-sized fern from New Caledonia, a remote Pacific island, now holds three Guinness World Records for packing the largest genome of any living organism. Meet Tmesipteris oblanceolata, a fork fern so small you might miss it, but its DNA is taller than the iconic London clock tower!
🔬 Scientists found that if you unraveled this fern’s DNA, it’d stretch over 100 meters—enough to dwarf most buildings. Meanwhile, human DNA? Just a humble 2 meters, like your bedroom door. 😲 This unassuming plant’s cells contain 50 times more DNA than ours, proving big things really do come in small packages.
🌱 The discovery sparks questions: Why does this fern need so much genetic material? How does it even function? Researchers like co-author Ilia Leitch are diving into the science, calling it a ‘biological mystery.’ 🤯 One thing’s clear: Nature’s full of surprises, and this fern just rewrote the rulebook! 📖💚
