Not completely true. It is a bit less than 2 bits, due to its replication chains, and the presence of insertion points where cross-overs are possible.
And ASCII is less than 7 bits when LZW is applied.
But the effective code is a bit more complex than just the ATCG system, as some studies have demonstrated that the DNA alone has no function out of its substrate, whose nature influence its "decoding".
ASCII of course has plenty of function outside its substrate. That's why I can rename a text file with the .exe extension, and it runs just fine. :-)
-- Curtis Clark http://www.csupomona.edu/~jcclark/ Web Coordinator, Cal Poly Pomona +1 909 979 6371 Professor, Biological Sciences +1 909 869 4062
