The RNA alphabet is {A,G,C,U}. There are 412 "words" of length 12 that can be formed from this 4-letter alphabet. On the assumption each letter occurs in Nature with equal probability (p = 0.25), the information content associated with such a word is
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| log2(412) = log2(224) = 24 bits. |
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However, in Nature the actual genetic instructions arise not from this alphabet, but from the 20-letter amino acid code alphabet, each letter of which is associated with an ordered triple from the RNA alphabet (plus three to signify the end of a gene).
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