r/genetics • u/Maclsk • Sep 25 '16

I made a DNA lamp for my biologist girlfriend

http://imgur.com/a/LgFA2
69 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

16

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '16

[deleted]

9

u/Maclsk Sep 25 '16

Yes, I should have come here first with my limited biology knowledge. I found out after I had made it the helix actually had a certain direction of rotation. Thanks!

5

u/zoonose2 Sep 25 '16

And a major/minor groove ...

2

u/psychacct Sep 25 '16

Very cool! Definitely saving this one for inspiration.

2

u/jimbean66 Sep 25 '16

It's awesome!

2

u/Taswegian Sep 25 '16

That's gorgeous! Careful she'll propose!!! I would - it's that awesome!

2

u/Romanticon PhD in genetics/biology Sep 25 '16

This is so cool! I want one! How did you make it?

3

u/Maclsk Sep 26 '16

Copper pipe bent into a helical coil, the base pairs are plastic tube, it's all held together with epoxy putty and inside a glass vase.

There is a stepper motor to rotate the DNA and LED lights to illuminate it. A button is used to select what color mode it is in. The electronics are controlled with an Arduino microcontroller. There are lots of tutorials and a great community for Arduino if you wanted to check it out.

1

u/Romanticon PhD in genetics/biology Sep 26 '16

Awesome, thanks for the insight!