Monday, April 18, 2016

Ever Think of Getting a Personalized DNA Scarf? Now You Can!

Ever Think of Getting a Personalized DNA Scarf? Now You Can!

DNA is the one element of a person that no one can imitate. A company in the UK, Dot One, founded by deisnger Iona Inglesby, has turned our genetic code into a unique design for each individual. About 99% of all humans have the same DNA; it is the 1% that differentiates individuals from another. That 1% of differentiated DNA contains equences between individuals called polymorphisms. "Dot One focuses on a class of polymorphisms called Short Tandem Repeats(STRs), or short, repreated sequences of DNA". The number of STRs are highly varied amongst individuals.
To order a product from Dot One, you sumbit a cheek swab that has been sent to you. The swab is sent to Dot One's partner lab, AlphaBiolabs, for testing. AlphaBiolab examines 23 different STRs from the sample which help build your genetic sequence. The results are then sent to Dot One where an algorithm is used to assign anumber to specific colors for each STRs. The end result is a personalized multicolored, fringed pattern. A knitted scarf retails for about $460 and a personalized poster retails for about $206. 
This is definately a one of a kind idea! It is a great ad unique idea to have a truely unique item which no one can imitate. However, it is a heafty price to pay for a knitted scarf which would normally retail for about $20. If this company gains popularity, chances are prices will drop and it will become much more affordable for the everyday person. However, this is overall a great and fashionable idea!

4 comments:

  1. That is so cool and such a great idea! I would SO get one if they weren't so expensive. Since they're so pricey, I think Dot One should donate some of the money they get from the scarves to genetic research.

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  2. This is a cool concept. I would assume after a little while the prices could go down. But it is reasonable the price for what they are doing. This is almost like a medical id bracelet.

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  3. This is awesome! Who would have thought that someone could make this much money making posters and scarves from people's DNA. It also surprised me that the 1% difference in DNA is what makes a difference between individuals. I believe that the reason they charge so much for these products is because it takes a lot of time to do each one. It is definitely a fashion accessory that no one else will have!

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  4. Definitely a neat idea to make some money. Price is probably so high because they have to analyze the DNA, so maybe as that gets cheaper the prices on scarves and posters will as well.

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