US President Barack Obama is a tenth cousin, once removed, of the previous president – George W Bush.

George W Bush is also related to Prince William and Winston Churchill.

President Obama is a distant cousin of the actor Brad Pitt.

Hillary Clinton is related to Angelina Jolie. In fact Clinton is also related to Madonna, Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, Jack Kerouac and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Humans, in common with other living things, inherit characteristics from their parents through genes.

Genes are made from DNA, which is a long molecule made up of simple units that are in a particular order. This order or sequence is like a code which is the information needed to make and operate a living organism.

Human cells normally have two copies of each gene. However, the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm each contain only one copy of each type. When the sperm fertilises the egg, a complete set of genes is created. For any given gene, one copy will have come from the father, and the other from the mother.

99.9% of DNA sequences are the same in every person, but enough of the DNA is different to distinguish one individual from another.

Humans have about 30,000 genes. For over half of these, their function has not yet been determined.

simple units that are in a particular order. This order or sequence is like a code which is the information needed to grow and operate a living organism.

Human cells normally have two copies of each gene. However, the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm each contain only one copy of each type. When the sperm fertilises the egg, a complete set of genes is created. For any given gene, one copy will have come from the father, and the other from the mother.