 An organism's genome is the entire genetic material of that organism, so the complete set of DNA. It provides all of the information required by the organism to function. DNA is a long chemical that contains bases represented by the letters A, T, G and C. A gene is a section of DNA that codes for a particular protein. To learn more about DNA, watch this video. The human genome is 3 billion bases long, but only consists of about 20 to 25,000 genes. As an average size gene is only about 3,000 bases long. This means that large parts of our DNA doesn't code for genes. The genome of every person on Earth is 99.9% the same. It's that tiny 0.1% that makes up genes that give us our unique differences. In fact, our genes are 98% similar to chimpanzees and 75% the same as a mouse. The Human Genome Project was an enormous project that saw scientists around the world collaborate to work out the sequences of bases in the human genome. The project started in 1990 and was completed by 2003, two years ahead of schedule. And here is the order of the bases A, T, G, C, T. Only joking. If I was to read out the bases one at a time for 24 hours straight, it would take a whole century and I certainly don't have time for that. So now we have the information. How is it being used? Well, since the structure of DNA was determined in 1953, we have known that the order of the bases is very important and that a change or mutation in this order can result in diseases. By sequencing the whole genome, scientists can use this information to work out the genetic causes of diseases such as cancer as well as developing treatments. The forms of genes or alleles associated with different inherited disorders have been mapped which means that genetic tests can be carried out on people to see if they are sufferers or carriers of an inherited disorder. For example, a genetic test can tell if someone is a carrier of cystic fibrosis. By comparing the DNA of people living in different parts of the world, scientists have been able to trace human migrations. The out of Africa theory that the first humans left Africa within the last 100,000 years has been supported by comparing the DNA of people living in different areas of the globe. The evidence shows which people are more closely related to others. Because of all the data generated by the Human Genome Project is available to anyone to view free of charge online means that scientists around the world can use the information in their research. This helps to increase the number of uses for it. There have been major advancements in DNA sequencing since the Human Genome Project ended. It took 13 years and billions of dollars to sequence a whole genome during the project but now scientists can do it in a matter of hours and you can even get yourself sequenced for a small fee. These advancements will help develop new strategies for the prevention and treatment of disease. So in this video you have learnt what a human genome is, what the Human Genome Project was and how the information from it is being used. If you liked the video give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe, comment below if you have any questions. Why not check out our Fuse School app as well. Until next time.