Come PlayDNA at Taylor Wimpey’s Kingsmere Development – and win!

The new Taylor Wimpey development at Kingsmere

Are you anywhere near Bicester in Oxfordshire this weekend? If you are, you can drop into Taylor Wimpey’s Kingsmere development and view some of our unique DNA Art on display – and as if that wasn’t enough to tempt you, you could also win a fabulous prize worth over £2000!

A keen supporter of local small businesses, home developer Taylor Wimpey have very kindly offered us the use of their three, four and five bed showroom properties for a photographic shoot. Beautifully designed inside and out, we’re looking forward to taking some stunning images!

Darren McCormack, regional sales and marketing director for Taylor Wimpey, says: “We are really pleased that we have been able to work with such a prominent local artist and help display her work. The PlayDNA artwork is totally unique and makes a great talking point for any home. What’s more, the artwork can be displayed in various different colours and formats, so you can have it styled ready to feature in your brand new home.

We love Sharmaine’s traditional yet natural style.
Copyright: Sharmaine Sepehr photography. Not to be reproduced without permission.

“Plus, anyone who visits the development during the event can enter into a free prize draw to win a family membership at Bicester Hotel Golf & Spa worth over £2,000!”

To make the most of this fabulous opportunity we’ve teamed up with up and coming Oxfordshire professional Wedding Photographer Sharmaine Sepehr who will be taking our shots on the day. Sharmaine specialises in family portrait photography with a creative yet unobtrusive style. She will also be providing the sample images for our new range of Framed Photo Prints. You can view a selection of Sharmaine’s work here.

A collection of our unique artwork will be on display at Taylor Wimpey’s Kingsmere development on Sunday 21^st April from 10.30am to 5pm. Dr Samantha Decombel, Co-Founder of PlayDNA Ltd, will be attending personally from 11am to 1pm, so if you want to talk all things DNA, pop in and say hi!

Please click here for the full press release: DNA Artist Event at Taylor Wimpey Kingmere – Press Release

Ask The Scientist: Lara’s Question

(L-R) Morgan, Lara and Brooke, who set us three excellent and thought-provoking questions!

It’s time for the third and final question in our ‘Ask The Scientist’ series – a selection of questions posed by the students of Irchester Community Primary School, Northants.

Three weeks ago we tackled a really insightful question from Brooke on why DNA is in a double helix.

Our final question comes from Lara, and it’s a particularly sensitive question that many of us may have wondered at some point, but be afraid to ask for fear of causing unintended offence.

Why do people who have genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome look similar physically?

– Lara, aged 11

It is true that there are certain genetic disorders that it’s relatively easy to spot if a person has. Down’s syndrome is one such condition. People with Down’s syndrome tend to share a number of physical characteristics, although it’s important to recognise that not every individual with the syndrome will have them all.

These characteristics may include almond shaped eyes that slant upwards and outwards, small ears and nose and a flat nasal bridge. People with the syndrome also tend to be shorter than average with poor muscle tone and have short, broad hands with a single crease across the palm.

Down’s syndrome (also known as Down syndrome) is a genetic condition where a person inherits an extra copy (or part) of one chromosome. People with the syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21 (called a trisomy) rather than the usual two.

Chromosomes are the structures that our DNA is stored in, and our DNA contains the genes that provide the instructions to build our bodies. It is differences in our DNA that makes us all unique, inside and out. As our DNA controls how we develop, having this extra bit of genetic material slightly alters the way Down’s syndrome babies grow in the womb of their mother, changing the finely tuned balance of the body.

The result of this is the characteristic physical features we see in Down’s syndrome. People with Down’s syndrome will also have varying degrees of learning disabilities, from mild to very severe. Around 750 babies with Down’s syndrome are born in the UK each year.  Down’s syndrome affects all ethnic groups equally, although slightly more boys are born with Down syndrome than girls.

Despite the characteristics they share in common, most importantly, like me and you, every individual with Down’s syndrome is unique. If you look past the characteristic traits we’ve described, you will see that people with Down’s syndrome, just like you and me, will inherit their looks and general characteristics from their mum and dad. Have a look at some of these family images we’ve pulled together below and you’ll see that each and every child is also a beautiful son or daughter, with all the typical family characteristics such as hair and eye colour, face and nose shape and smile.

Just like you and me, they are also all different and all unique.

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