With so many great entries, it wasn’t easy, but we’ve picked the winners in 23andMe’s first ever “Genetics Image Contest.”
We had a lot of creative depictions of DNA, chromosomes, genes, and genetic concepts like heredity and inheritance. We narrowed the winners to three. In no particular order here they are:
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- One of the winning images. This one “Human Karyotype” by Drury University student Ashleigh Spalding
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- “Like Mother, Like Daughter” by Alyssa Jenkins
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- “DNA Bridge” by Kadir Akdemir
In Ashleigh Spalding’s fun “Human Karyotype,” she had her fellow students from Drury University lay out on the ground to represent both the number and the shape of the 23 chromosomes.
We all did a double take looking at Alyssa Jenkins’ wonderful “Like Mother, Like Daughter,” in which the fused image conveys more about inheritance than many a textbook.
Rounding out the winners was Kadir Akdemir’s sublime “DNA Bridge,” where the structure of the span mimics the double helix of DNA.
Each of the three winners will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. In addition to the three individual winners, the three schools with the highest rate of student participation – Drury University, Wartburg College and the College of San Mateo – will receive $300 to raise awareness of personal genomics through a learning event on campus.
On top of getting a 23andMe T-shirt, the finalists will also have their images showcased in the Genetics Gallery at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.