WHAT IS A GENOME?

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Our bodies are literally made up of millions and millions of cells! Each cell has an exact set up instructions. These instructions know how to make your cells, and they even know the components and their components' components of your cells. These instructions are known as your genome. Humans have pretty similar genomes, obviously, because we are all humans. But all living things have their own genome; even cockroaches have their own genome. There genome is a complete set of instructions for how to  make a cockroach. Even tomotoes have their own genome! As well as bacteria.

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Genomes are made of DNA!

 DNA looks like a ladder. The rungs on the DNA ladder are called base pairs. These base pairs can break, allowing the sides of the helix to come undone and unreavel. This special property is what allows DNA to copy itself, and to act as the instructions.

DNA's code is written in only four 'letters', called A, C, T and G. The meaning of this code lies in the sequence of the letters A, T, C and G in the same way that the meaning of a word lies in the sequence of alphabet letters. Your cells read the DNA sequence to make chemicals that your body needs to survive.

What does DNA code for?

A gene is a length of DNA that contains the instructions to make a chemical in your body.
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.
We talk about genes having different characteristics. For example, if you hear about 'genes for eye color', it means that these genes code for protein pigments in the iris of each of our eyes. Genes can come in different versions too.

Sequencing means determining the exact order of the base pairs in a segment of DNA. Human chromosomes range in size from about 50,000,000 to 300,000,000 base pairs.(Genome.gov, 2013)