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From: agranok@udenva.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: question
Message-ID: <3310@udenva.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 29-Mar-87 15:12:11 EST
Article-I.D.: udenva.3310
Posted: Sun Mar 29 15:12:11 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 31-Mar-87 01:47:26 EST
References: <11189@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA> <978@aecom.UUCP>
Reply-To: agranok@udenva.UUCP (Alexander Granok)
Organization: U of Denver
Lines: 28
Summary: Definition of a Human "Byte"

In article <978@aecom.UUCP> werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) writes:
>In article <11189@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA>, rburns@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Randy Burns) writes:
>> I was wondering roughly how many 'bytes' of information are contained
>> within human chromosomes?
>
>	Hence, if a byte is a base pair, that's your answer, although
>only two bits are required to specify a base, ergo a 'byte' could 
>actually be a tetranucleotide, but most sequences are stored as
>letters (ATCG). 

The whole arguement gets caught up in definitions, here.  I would consider a
bit to be a base pair, and a byte to be the set of three that encodes for one
amino acid.  Instead of eight bits to a byte, there are three.  After all, one
base pair by itself doesn't do much good.  But, if a base pair is a bit, then
what is a nucleotide?  I guess it all depends on what you mean by "informa-
tion."   That's the problem with trying to put restrictions from one system 
onto another.  I think a better question might be something like:
"How many amino acids (words in the language of proteins) are encoded for on the
human chromosomes?"  or "How many books could these words fill?"  I seem to
remember Sagan doing something like this on Cosmos.  Anyway, I think that would
give a much more easily palpable idea for the enormity of information involved.


-- 
                                           
                              Alex Granok 
                              hao!udenva!agranok
                              "Wait a minute.  Strike that.  Reverse it."