if the four basic nucleobases decide gene outcome (ACGT), but have strict complementary base pairing (A-C & G-T), are there then four values to variate with or just two, like binary?

Question

**Correction**: A-T & C-G, not ~~A-C & G-T~~
The question arose from [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/k3b4ba/just_like_computers_speak_in_binary_1s_and_0s_the/ge2jzil?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3), where I compared binary code to human DNA’s ACGT, then someone who knows more about IT than me made a good question.

If it’s not clear what I’m asking yet:
in binary you can have a lot of variation with the values 1 and 0
in human DNA (if we ignore RNA and (U)racil for now) there are four values, A, C, G, T. But since they bind strictly A-C & G-T doesn’t that technically leave DNA with only two factors to variate with?

Like: ~~A-C, A-C, G-T, A-C~~ A-T, A-T, C-G, A-T
Instead of: AGTATAC

In: Biology

Answer 1

DNA is not just the base pairs themselves, but the order of those base pairs. So there are four possible choices, not two. When DNA is copied in the cells (scientists call this replication), the two strands of the DNA pairs are separated and each strand acts as a template to create two perfect copies.

The other feature to remember is that the DNA code is translated into RNA (scientists call this transcription). The RNA code is then translated into a protein (called translation) which does the business of the cells.

Each group of three RNA bases is converted to a single amino acid, that then forms the protein. So in this case the code is not binary, but ternary and that dictates what the final protein product will be.