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The human genome is made up of DNA, which has four different chemical building blocks. These are called bases and abbreviated A, T, C, and G. In the human genome, about 3 billion bases are arranged along the chromosomes in a particular order for each unique individual. It's also important to mention that not all of those bases serve a known function. Humans have about 30,000 protein coding genes, which comprise only 2% of our genome but form the builiding blocks of all our cells. The other 98% is made up of elements such as miRNA which regulate how the protein coding genes function. Only a few years ago it was thought most of the DNA in the human genome was junk (repetative waste accumulated over evolution that cluttered the genome) It is now becoming clear that at least 80% of the genome is transcribed and may therefore be of some involved in how our bodies function.


To get an idea of the size of the human genome present in each of our cells, consider the following analogy: If the DNA sequence of the human genome were compiled in books, the equivalent of 200 volumes the size of a Manhattan telephone book (at 1000 pages each) would be needed to hold it all.



It would take about 9.5 years to read out loud (without stopping) the 3 billion bases in a person's genome sequence. This is calculated on a reading rate of 10 bases per second, equaling 600 bases/minute, 36,000 bases/hour, 864,000 bases/day, 315,360,000 bases/year.
Storing all this information is a great challenge to computer experts known as bioinformatics specialists. One million bases (called a megabase and abbreviated Mb) of DNA sequence data is roughly equivalent to 1/4 megabyte of computer data storage space. Since the human genome is 3 billion base pairs long, 3/4 gigabytes of computer data storage space are needed to store the entire genome. This includes nucleotide sequence data only and does not include data annotations and other information that can be associated with sequence data.
As time goes on, more annotations will be entered as a result of laboratory findings, literature searches, data analyses, personal communications, automated data-analysis programs, and auto annotators. These annotations associated with the sequence data will likely dwarf the amount of storage space actually taken up by the initial 3 billion nucleotide sequence. Of course, that's not much of a surprise because the sequence is merely one starting point for much deeper biological understanding!
Remember that humans have a diploid genome thus our entire complement of DNA is composed of 6 billion bases; 3 billion from each parent.

The reason for the Human Genome Project is to map out the human genome so as to find a way to prevent genetic disorders such as birth defects and so on.

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Related Questions

Size of the human genome and the institute which are involved in the project?

The National Genome Research Institute: http://www.genome.gov/According to genome.gov, the human genome is approximately 3 billion base pairs in size.Source: http://www.genome.gov/11006943


What was the overall goal of the Human Genome Project?

To identify every human gene.<==== nova net answer.


What is human genome?

The human genome is the DNA or genetic blueprint for all people.


What is the population of Human Genome Sciences?

Human Genome Sciences's population is 1,000.


When was Human Genome Sciences created?

Human Genome Sciences was created in 1992.


How many pairs of the human genome?

There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human genome.


Which animal's genome has the highest percentage of similarity with the human genome?

The animal with the highest percentage of similarity to the human genome is the chimpanzee.


Which term describes the entire DNA of an organism?

Genome is the term used to describe the entire DNA of a organism. For instance, if referring to the entire DNA in a human, you would call it: 'the human genome."


Which cancers does the human genome project help?

the human genome project helpes many different cancers


What percent of the human genome is composed of these transposable sequences?

Approximately 45% of the human genome is made up of transposable elements. These sequences have the ability to move around the genome and can have significant impacts on gene regulation and genome evolution.


Human genome fully sequenced?

The human genome, which contains 3.4 billion base pairs, is the largest sequenced to date. The genome of rice (Oryza sativa) is the largest and most complex fully-sequenced plant genome. It contains over 430 million base pairs and an estimated 46,022 to 55,615 genes. [Science 296(5565):79-92] In contrast, the human genome contains an estimated 23,299 genes. Genome size is independent of organismal complexity.


Why is a genome so important?

The human genome is all of the bodies DNA