What You Should Know

"A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes. Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism. In humans, a copy of the entire genome - more than 3 billion base pairs - is contained in all cells that have a nucleus."

Definition provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine

Red blood cells and platelets do not have a nucleus. (On line research)

Platelets are the cells that circulate within our blood and bind together when they recognize damaged blood vessels (clotting). (On line research)

 Genes are segments of DNA considered to be the ingredients for the recipe of creating a living thing. (On line research)

"DNA - or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a human's body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a smaller amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA)."

Again - U.S. National Library of Medicine

Mitochondria are tiny compartments found within cells. The most crucial role they perform is to convert energy locked in food into energy the cell can use. The main reason we breathe oxygen is so this process of energy conversion can take place in mitochondria.

Source: Newcastle University wellcome trust centre for Mitochondrial Research

What is genome research good for?

The Human Genome Project was successfully completed in 2003. It was designed to generate a resource that could be used for a broad range of biomedical studies. It was completed under budget and more than two years ahead of schedule.

It was considered a major success.

Virtually every human ailment has some basis in our genes. The vast amount of data generated by the Human Genome Project and other genomic research, have given scientists more powerful tools to study the role that multiple genetic factors play in complex diseases.

Source: National Human Genome Institute

If you want to know what progress has been made in the genomic world since 2003, do your own research.

You see how one thing leads to another?

It's kind of exhausting plowing through it all, though.

Is "on line" one word or two?