How is it that every living organism has specialized cells that contain genetic material made up of only four different bases, yet every organism is different?

See the answer below

Explanation:

The answer lies mainly in the genetic codes which are translated differently in different organisms.

The genetic code degenerates such that 64 possible codons from the four bases () codes for the 20 amino acids that are available in nature. The transfer RNA is primarily responsible for the translation of the genetic codes and different organisms have different transfer RNA. Hence, the same genetic codes are differently translated in different organisms and this ensures that organisms are different.