The Double Helix: Top Ten Amazing Facts about DNA!
• You have an estimated 3 billion DNA bases in your genome.
• Your genome would occupy about 3 gigabytes of computer storage space or fill 200 1,000-page New York City telephone directories.
• It would take a person typing 60 words per minute, eight hours a day, around 50 years to type out all the letters of your genome.
• If unwound and tied together, the strands of DNA in one cell would stretch almost six feet but would be only 50 trillionths of an inch wide.
• If you unwrap all the DNA you have in all your cells it would reach to the sun and back over 600 times (100 trillion times six feet divided by 92 million miles).
• You have an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 genes, but they only make up 2-3% of your genome. We are just starting to understand the function of your remaining “junk”.
• Over 99.9% of your DNA sequence is the same as mine!
• You have 1-4% Neanderthal DNA; some of you may have more 🙂
• The first human genome was patched together over 13 years; today, your genome can be commercially sequenced in 2-3 months.
• Costs for sequencing the genome are falling exponentially: from USD 3 billion in 2001 to USD1,000 today and may fall by another factor of ten!
So, what’s in your genes?
Awesome enough for you? Want more? Check out: http://www.eyeondna.com/2007/08/20/100-facts-about-dna/
Thanks to Dunken K Bliths for generating this wonderful gif!
Thank you Konstantin Makov , for finding this hypnotic image 🙂
#sciencesunday curated by Allison Sekuler and Robby Bowles .