Here's a breakdown:

* Gene: A segment of DNA that contains the instructions for building a specific protein or functional RNA molecule.

* Allele: A variant form of a gene. Each person inherits two alleles for each gene, one from each parent. These alleles can be the same or different.

For example, the gene for eye color can have different alleles: one allele might code for brown eyes, while another allele might code for blue eyes.

Let me know if you have any other questions!