How is it we can be comprised of only around 25 thousand genes (26,383 according to this site, but who's counting?), when scientists estimated we would have between 80 to 150 thousand? Alternative splicing- where one gene can be cut and pasted into different versions to make different proteins (video explanation here). It's estimated that 30 to 60 percent of our genes undergo alternative splicing, and may make 5 or 6 different proteins. It's also the case that many (if not most) genetic disorders involve faulty splicing. Some forms of Alzheimers and prostate cancer, for example, are caused by this.
Furthermore, all mammals share basically the same genes, but different numbers of "tandem repeats" seem to be behind the diversity of species.
Here's a primer on the genetic code and videos explaining transcription and translation and the genetic code.
Click on the diagram below for a series of tutorials on the central dogma of molecular biology:
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