What does DNA code for?

A gene is a length of DNA that contains the instructions to make a chemical in your body. The DNA in a gene usually codes for a protein.

In our cells, proteins are the workforce; they get everything done. Proteins break down our food to release energy. Proteins organise the transport of useful chemicals between cells. Often, these useful chemicals are themselves proteins.

As well as doing things, proteins are the building blocks for most of your body. In the same way that a wall is made mostly of bricks, your body is made mostly of protein.

We talk about genes having different characteristics. For instance, if you hear about 'genes for eye colour', it means that these genes code forprotein pigments in the iris of each of our eyes. Genes can come in different versions. Some people's versions code for proteins that make their eyes look blue while other people's versions make proteins that make their eyes look brown.

What is a DNA code?

GENETIC CODE:

The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material (DNA ormRNA sequences) is translated into proteins (amino acid sequences) by living cells. The code defines a mapping between tri-nucleotide sequences, called codons, and amino acids. With some exceptions,^[1] a triplet codon in a nucleic acid sequence usually specifies a single amino acid. Because the vast majority of genes are encoded with exactly the same code ), this particular code is often referred to as the canonical or standard genetic code, or simplythe genetic code, though in fact there are many variant codes. Thus the canonical genetic code is not universal. In humans, for example, protein synthesis in mitochondria relies on a genetic code that varies from the standard genetic code.

Not all genetic information is stored using the genetic code. All organisms' DNA contains regulatory sequences, intergenic segments, and chromosomal structural areas that can contribute greatly to phenotype. Those higher-level or epigenetic elements operate under sets of rules that are distinct from the codon-to-amino acid paradigm underlying the genetic code.