Suddenly, it’s clear that genes don’t have discrete jobs at all—there wouldn’t be nearly enough genes to produce all the proteins necessary for human life if each gene only had one job. Instead, single genes have the capacity to produce many, many different proteins through a complex process of copying, cutting, and combining instructions. In fact, like a casino dealer who never stops, genes can shuffle and reshuffle endlessly to produce a huge array of proteins. There’s one gene in a type of fruit fly that can produce almost 40,000 different proteins!
