a different portrait

wah ha ha.... done it so many times in the lab.... but never once crossed my mind that tis can be turned into a business idea.

a canada based studio, dna11, adopts a science approach to producing works of art. they basically take a sample off you (saliva is the most convenient) and then use a method called gel electrophoresis to produce a portrait, your portrait.

layman description of gel electrophoresis
your sample of saliva will go through many many steps of chemical manipulation so that its "small" enough to be "run" on a gel. yes, jus like a piece of gel/agar agar. slightly cloudy whitish in color.

see the gel? on the left end of the gel are wells.


after chemicals and what not, your saliva (which contains DNA) will break down into small enough molecules to travel within the "pores" of the gel. at one end of the gel are wells where your small enough saliva sample + a blue dye will be added. this gel is then placed in a buffer solution (i think so...cant remember :P) and attached to a simple apparatus where there're electrodes. and jus like that, after abt 1hour or so, u can see on the gel different bands of blue. it uses the basis of size and electric charges. this piece of gel is taken to a special machine where its being captured/ photographed and a printout being generated. so how do our DNA show up on photographs? well, thats the reason we added the dye earlier on. the blue dye with our DNA fluorescent under the UV light within the special machine.

here's a paper printout of the gel. the white bands are DNA. in the lab, we'll have to analyse the size of the DNA.


u can see here if u wanna know more abt how we run gel electrophoresis in the lab.

i can feel that i miss school alot....i miss lab work too. no PR needed. no faking at all. jus being the usual me. not that i need to fake alot at work but working in a lab is like being in your own world. who doesnt like that? i guess we all might like a lil of both. own time + interaction times. a balance. when u dont feel like yakking or not in one of those moods, u retreat into your lab. no obligation to talk at all. how great.

okay... i applaud dna11. they have a wonderful cool idea embracing science and art.

for the those who are interested, they ship internationally.

u can order your DNA portrait in any of the 3 sizes.


18"x24" - US$390
24"x36" - US$490
36"x54" - US$790

there is also the couple portrait. what a good idea as v-day or wedding anniversary gift. cool isnt it?

24"x36" - US$640

36"x54" - US$940

for a piece of yourself, i think its all worth it.