Solved cryptogram
A human cell holds forty six chromosomes, arranged as twenty three matched pairs.
Biology Facts, sourced to National Human Genome Research Institute.
What it means
One of each pair comes from each parent. The count is not a measure of complexity: a dog has seventy eight and some ferns have well over a thousand. Egg and sperm cells carry half the number, so a fertilized cell arrives back at the full complement. An extra copy of even one chromosome usually has serious consequences, which is what makes Down syndrome a trisomy.
The claim comes from National Human Genome Research Institute, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.
This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 67 letters over 20 different ones, graded hard.
- SourceNational Human Genome Research Institute
- CollectionBiology Facts
- Difficultyhard
- Length67 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- National Human Genome Research Institutemedium, 74 letters
- National Human Genome Research Institutehard, 67 letters
- National Human Genome Research Instituteeasy, 77 letters
- NCBI Bookshelfmedium, 79 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- MedlinePlushard, 76 letters
- NHLBIhard, 75 letters
- U.S. Geological Surveyhard, 66 letters
- NIDDKhard, 74 letters