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GENOTYPE-PHENOTYPE. "Since the release of a high-quality human genome sequence a decade ago, our ability to assign genotypes to phenotypes has exploded. Genes have been identified for most Mendelian disorders and over 100,000 alleles have been implicated in at least one disorder. Hundreds of susceptibility loci have been uncovered for numerous complex traits and the genomes of a few thousand human tumors have been nearly fully sequenced." https://lnkd.in/ekfTsQz View in LinkedIn

FINITE SIZE RANGE. "Proteins exist in a finite range of sizes with a limited amino acid alphabet. We find that these restrictions set an intrinsic limit to designing protein interfaces that can bind selectively to target proteins, while remaining relatively repulsive to all other protein interfaces." https://lnkd.in/eTyvTV7 View in LinkedIn

ONLY 20 AMINO ACIDS MAKE PROTEINS. "There are 22 standard amino acids, but only 21 are found in eukaryotes. Of the 22, 20 are directly encoded by the universal genetic code. Humans can synthesize 11 of these 20 from each other or from other molecules of intermediary metabolism. The other 9 must be consumed in the diet." https://lnkd.in/eeMC3wc View in LinkedIn

ONLY 26,000 GENES. "There is good evidence for 26,383 protein-coding genes, according to J. Craig Venter and colleagues at Celera Genomics. Based on a combination of computer data and human analysis, there is some evidence that the genome may contain another 12,731 or so genes, but it is too early to know for sure; some of the predicted genes may be overestimates." https://lnkd.in/ex9kCjU View in LinkedIn

ONLY FOUR NUCLEOTIDES BUILD DNA. "There are basically four nucleotide bases, which make up the DNA. Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Thymine (T) and Cytosine(C)." (You knew that, but I am building my case). https://lnkd.in/e7TPGqw View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE this weekend covers the zany world of cellular proteins, from a 24,000 feet perspective. Exquisite simplicity on one level leads to a multiplying complexity on another. The limited number of chemicals that make up genes, and the limited pallet of amino acids have actually produced a large number of proteins, and groups of proteins that work together. View in LinkedIn

98% GENETIC JUNK? This is a completely preposterous idea to biochemists, who are used to the intricate, efficient, and multilayered elegance of metabolic pathways and their regulation, with failsafe pathways guarding essential functioning. Just because we do not understand its function, this is not a reason to call the majority of our DNA "junk", and simply reflects a fundamental disrespect for nature from scientists who should know better. View in LinkedIn

WHOPPING AMOUNTS. "The proportion of coding versus noncoding DNA varies significantly between species. In the human genome for example, almost all (98%) of the DNA is noncoding, while in bacteria, only 2% of the genetic material does not code for anything." https://lnkd.in/eZHPYqA View in LinkedIn

UNKNOWN FUNCTION. "Some of this noncoding DNA is used to produce non-coding RNA components such as transfer RNA, regulatory RNA and ribosomal RNA. However, other DNA regions are not transcribed into proteins, nor are they used to produce RNA molecules and their function is unknown." https://lnkd.in/eZHPYqA View in LinkedIn

SEEKING FUNCTION. "In genetics, the term junk DNA refers to regions of DNA that are noncoding. DNA contains instructions (coding) that are used to create proteins in the cell. However, the amount of DNA contained inside each cell is vast and not all of the genetic sequences present within a DNA molecule actually code for a protein." https://lnkd.in/eZHPYqA View in LinkedIn