One of the salient features of the genetic code is that it is nearly universal from bacteria to humans. Mention two exceptions to this rule. Why are some codes said to be degenerates?
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- Exceptions: In mitochondria, UGA = Tryptophan (instead of Stop). In Paramecium, UAA/UAG = Glutamine (instead of Stop).
- Degeneracy means $61$ codons share the work of coding for just $20$ amino acids, which helps minimize the impact of genetic mutations.