Tag: genome
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![1975 — Learning to Read DNA [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP3]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/logo.png?w=956)
1975 — Learning to Read DNA [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP3]
In the early 1970s, life scientists faced a paradox: they could interpret the language of the DNA, but they couldn’t read it. How could that be? Years of ingenious research had cracked the genetic code, revealing which nucleotide triplets code for which amino acid. This meant that scientists could predict a protein’s sequence from a…
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![1965 — Deciphering the Code of Life [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP2]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/picture-1.jpg?w=309)
1965 — Deciphering the Code of Life [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP2]
Life doesn’t have an alphabet, but two: that of DNA and that of proteins. The genetic code is the Rosetta stone of molecular biology: it lays out how cells convert one alphabet into another — three bases into a single amino acid, but never the reverse. These rules were first summarised in a historic chart…
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![The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology is not What You Think [Common Misconceptions in Genomics, EP. 3]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/dre.png?w=1024)
The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology is not What You Think [Common Misconceptions in Genomics, EP. 3]
Like many of you, I believed I knew the Central Dogma of molecular biology: DNA→ RNA→Protein. I was wrong. Somewhat shocked, I learned what it really means only last week, after digging in a paper older than my dad – I am a sucker for the history of science… Funnily enough, textbooks are probably responsible…
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![Not All Exons Code for a Protein [Common Misconceptions in Genomics, EP. 2]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/figure0.png?w=931)
Not All Exons Code for a Protein [Common Misconceptions in Genomics, EP. 2]
No, not all exons code for a protein. Far from it. This week’s post will disprove this common misconception by illustrating three core principles in molecular biology. Each one is enough to convince you that not every exon codes for a protein. Together, they will reveal a surprising truth: coding exons are a minority, actually.…
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![1965 — Sequencing the First Nucleic Acid [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP1]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/trna-logo.png?w=752)
1965 — Sequencing the First Nucleic Acid [A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing, EP1]
The history of DNA sequencing doesn’t start with DNA. No, it starts with another nucleic acid, RNA. An RNA molecule was in fact the first nucleic acid ever sequenced—amid enormous challenges, and 140 kg of yeast. [This is Episode 1 of A Chronicle of DNA Sequencing through 5 anniversaries (1965-2015), Click me for an overview…
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Genomic Giants: the Largest Genomes on Earth
Unroll our genome and you get a Michael Jordan! If we could unwind the 3.2 billion base pairs (bp) of our genome, it would stretch across 2 meters, 6 feet 6 inches, the height of the NBA icon. Humans pack a mind-blowing amount of DNA in their cells, and yet this is just a fraction…
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