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Did You Know

See below for a list of ‘Did You Know’ articles relating to From genes to genomes.

What is a Genome?

The genome is an organism's complete set of DNA. Genomes vary widely in size: the smallest known genome for a free-living organism (a bacterium) contains about 600,000 DNA base pairs, while human and mouse genomes have some 3 billion. Except for mature red blood cells, all human cells contain a complete genome.

How Many Genes in a Cell?

Every human cell contains 25,000 to 30,000 genes except for mature red blood cells, which have none.

Genes associated with disease

More than 1,400 genes have been associated with disease.

DNA length

Each cell in your body has an estimated 2 to 3 metres of DNA.

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