DNA Helix beaded model

I wanted a DNA helix model to have at my vendor booth at the Texas State Genealogical Society conference where I will be discussing the Early Texans DNA Project and Genetic Genealogy in Practice written with Blaine. I wanted something classier than foam or styrofoam without spending hundreds of dollars.

I came up with this idea for wire and beads. I realized the four colors of beads I picked to represent the GCATs could be called Green, Cyan (blue), Amber, and Tangerine (orange) so the first letter of the color matches the DNA chemical names Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine, Thymine. So I decided to make it a real map of the first rungs of the DNA ladder for my mtDNA sequence. I added small wooden beads to represent the sugar and phosphate binding agents.

I still need to play with the twist but I think I am going to like using this at conferences and maybe even at institute courses! The helix is about three inches wide and twenty or so inches long. The size could be adapted using different sized beads and chains.

Photos and DNA Helix design by Debbie Parker Wayne, September 2016

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "DNA Helix beaded model," Deb's Delvings, 28 September 2016 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).


© 2016, Debbie Parker Wayne, Certified Genealogist®, All Rights Reserved