[ZME CONTEST] Immortalize your own, unique DNA with a portrait from DNA11

DNA 11 combines genetic science with art by providing its customers with their own, unique DNA portrait. Pioneers in the field, DNA11 empowers you to create art that has a deep personal meaning to you. You choose the size and style of your art piece, as well as your own color scheme from over a million possible color combinations. To finish off your perfect art piece, you can also select from a variety of high quality frames.

“DNA 11 launched in 2005 and it never originally launched to be a business – it was meant to be a creative endeavour. Myself and Adrian are friends since we were 4 years old. My background is in Genetics and Adrian’s background is in Web and Design. One night we were hanging out and Adrian saw some of my technical brochures for DNA imaging equipment and to him it looked more like art. We thought it would be a cool idea to take a sample of our DNA through a mouth swab and turn it into a completely unique piece of artwork. After the labwork was complete and the image was colorized to our likings, we printed out our respective pieces on canvas and hung them in our apartments.

Shortly after, friends and family started asking us to make pieces for them, so we decided to launch dna11.com where we can offer this service to anyone who visits our website. That was 7 years ago – and today we have clients in over 50 countries and have facilities in Las Vegas and Ottawa, Canada and have been growing ever since. Our mission is to create the world’s most personalized art,” Nazim Ahmed, co-founder of DNA11 and a molecular geneticist, told ZME Science.

Here’s how you can order your unique piece of DNA art

1. Choose your style, color, size and frame by placing an order.
2. Wait a few days for your collection kit and instructions to arrive.
3. Follow step-by-step directions.
4. Send your sample back to DNA11 by pre-addressed envelope.

“We use a process called Polymerase Chain Reaction to isolate DNA strands flanked by 8 specific sequences that we found to be the most commonly occurring in Human DNA. Since these sequences occur in different locations and frequencies in every person, we can separate them using a process called Gel Electrophoresis. This gel is then stained and photographed, ending up with a unique pattern for every individual.

Although the image is completely unique to every client, it does not reveal any personal information about the individual. Our goal is to create a unique conversation piece that crosses art, genetics and personalization, while respecting our client’s privacy and not revealing any personal genetic information about the owner,” ensured Nazim.

At the company’s lab your DNA is extracted and run on a gel. A raw digital image is captured from the gel, which is used to create your perfect. The DNA sample is then destroyed to ensure privacy. The DNA image is then digitally enhanced , printed on high-quality canves, framed to your specs, is assigned an unique certificate of authenticity, crush-proof packed, before finally shipped back to you.

ZME Science has partnered with DNA11 and is hosting a contest in which one lucky winner will receive a $199 USD gift card. You can use it to instantly order a DNA Mini Portrait for free or save money on a more elaborate DNA Portrait. DNA11 also offers Fingerprint Portraits, DNA Ancestry Portraits and KISS Portraits.

The enter the giveaway you need to :

The winner will be chosen at random via random.org. The contest is open to participants anywhere in the world.

Winner announced on: Wednesday, June 27!

UPDATE: Robbyn Luke-Wizard Mattei won the contest, congrats!