Human genome facts

• The following is a brief list of facts regarding the human genome. .
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  The human genome is the complete list of coded instructions needed to make a human.
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  The human genome is composed of more than 3 billion nucleotide bases. There are 4 types of nucleotide base: A- adenine, T- thymine, C- cytosine, G- guanine.
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  The order of the nucleotide bases contains the instructions for making an organism. Every three bases codes for an amino acid.
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  There are 20 different amino acids that combined in different ways make different proteins.
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  The total number of human genes is estimated to be between 30,000 - 40,000.
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  Worms have 19,098 genes, fruit flies have 13,602 and yeast has 6,034.
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  Almost all nucleotide bases (99.9%) are exactly the same in all people.
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  Less than 2% of the genome codes for proteins.
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  The vast majority of the DNA in the genome (>97%) has no known function.
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  The functions remain unknown for over 50% of discovered genes.
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  Chromosome 1 has the most genes (2,968) and chromosome Y has the least (231).
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  Humans have about 3 times as many proteins as flies and worms. This is because different proteins can be produced by the same gene using the processes of mRNA splicing and protein post-translational modifications.
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  Our DNA is 98% identical to chimpanzees. The average amount of genetic difference between any 2 chimpanzees is 4 or 5 times more than the average difference between any 2 humans.
  There are 100 trillion cells in your body.
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  If unwound and tied together, the strands of DNA in one cell would stretch 6 feet.
  If all the DNA in your body was tied together, it would stretch to the sun and back over 600 times.
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  12,000 letters of DNA are decoded by human genome project computers every second.
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  The entire human genome requires more than 3 gigabytes of computer storage space.
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  If a person recited the genome at a rate of one nucleotide per second, 24 hours a day, it would take them a full century to complete.
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  To sequence the human genome, researchers collected a large number of blood samples from females and sperm from males. A few of these samples were then chosen at random for sequencing. The identities of the sample sources have never been disclosed, either to the donors or to the scientists.