Solved cryptogram
You inherit your mitochondria from your mother alone, and they carry a little DNA of their own.
Biology Facts, sourced to National Human Genome Research Institute.
What it means
The egg supplies the mitochondria and the sperm contributes essentially none, so this small separate genome passes down the maternal line unmixed. That makes it a useful tool for tracing ancestry back through many generations. The presence of a second genome inside our cells is a leftover of an ancient event in which one cell took up residence inside another and stayed.
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This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.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: 77 letters over 16 different ones, graded easy.
- SourceNational Human Genome Research Institute
- CollectionBiology Facts
- Difficultyeasy
- Length77 letters, 16 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- National Human Genome Research Institutehard, 67 letters
- National Human Genome Research Institutehard, 67 letters
- NCBI Bookshelfmedium, 79 letters
- NCBI Bookshelfeasy, 71 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- NCBI Bookshelfeasy, 75 letters
- MedlinePluseasy, 72 letters
- Brain Research Bulletineasy, 74 letters
- NCBI Bookshelfeasy, 77 letters