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The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

The Battle over Human Chromosomes

19 min • 1 april 2025

It seems like a simple question: how many chromosomes do human beings have? But getting an accurate count proved surprisingly hard for much of last century. In fact, virtually every textbook once cited an incorrect number, until in 1956, a fiery Indonesian scientist finally determined the true count—and had to battle his boss over who would receive credit for this legacy-making discovery.

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