What Is a Gene?
By Brandon Colby, MD, Physician specializing in genetic analysis and personalized preventive medicine, and author of Outsmart Your Genes.
A gene is a specific segment of DNA that contains the instructions for making a particular protein or performing a specific function in the body. Genes act like individual “recipes” within the larger DNA molecule, and humans have offer 30,000 genes.
Each person inherits two copies of most genes, one from each parent. Small differences in a gene’s sequence, called variants, can influence traits such as hair color, or can affect health by altering how well the gene’s protein functions. Genes are the basic unit that genetic testing and DNA analysis typically focus on.
References
https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/basics/gene/
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Gene