Explain what is meant when the genetic code is described as 'degenerate'.

DNA is made up of sequence of nucleotides ( a phosphate, a pentose sugar and nitrogenous base). It is the sequence of bases on the DNA strand that codes for proteins. A sequence of three bases is called and codon and this represents one amino acid in the polypeptide. The genetic code is described as degenerate because often, more than one codon codes for the same amino acid.