Chapter 8
DNA Sequencing: Decoding the Genome
IN THIS CHAPTER
Sequencing DNA to determine the order of the bases
Appreciating the contributions of the Human Genome Project
Discovering the genomes of other species
Imagine owning a library of 22,000 books. We don’t mean just any books; this collection contains unimaginable knowledge, such as solutions to diseases that have plagued humankind for centuries, basic building instructions for just about every creature on earth, and even the explanation of how thoughts are formed inside your brain. This fabulous library has only one problem — it’s written in a mysterious language, a code made up of only four letters that are repeated in arcane patterns. The very secrets of life on earth have been contained within this library since the dawn of time, but no one could read the books — until now.
The 22,000 books are the genes that carry the information that make you. The library storing these books is the human genome. Sequencing genomes (that is, all the DNA in one set of chromosomes of an organism), both human genomes and those of other organisms, means discovering the order of the four bases (C, G, A, and T) that make up DNA. The order ...
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