Technical Glossary
Base
The four chemical building blocks, represented by the letters A, C, G and T, that compose DNA.
Chromosome
The physical structures in cells containing large stretches of DNA (Hundreds of millions of bases) and the information for thousands of genes.
DNA
The molecule that encodes genetic information through the sequence of four constituent bases.
DNA Sequence
The precise order of bases for a DNA fragment, a gene, a chromosome or an entire genome.
Gene
The fundamental unit of heredity. A gene is a specific sequence of bases (usually thousands to tens of thousands of bases) located in a specific location on a particular chromosome. Genes are transcribed to produce multiple molecules of mRNA which are then translated to produce multiple copies of a specific protein.
Genome
All the bases in all the genes on all the chromosomes of a species. The human genome contains over 3 billion bases.
Genomics
The comprehensive study of all genes and their function in biological pathways.
Sequencing
The process of determining the identity and precise order of all the bases in a piece (or fragment) of DNA.
Source: 454 Life Sciences