Innovation in DNA

Technology around DNA is evolving to the point where it may be possible to affordably print original DNA sequences.

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Three issues of Nature magazine are shown. They contain the original scholarly articles in which Francis Crick and James Watson first revealed to the world the structure of DNA.The issues (dated April 25, 1953, May 30, 1953, and August 24, 1953) are part of the Dr. Elliott and Eileen Hinkes Collection of Rare Books of Scientific Discovery at the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University.

Will Kirk /

Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins, 46, of Greenwich, London, shared the Nobel Prize for medicine with Francis Crick and James Watson. In this Oct. 18, 1962, photogtaph, he stands beside a model of a DNA molecule during a news conference in the New York office of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research.

Anthony Camerano / Associated Press

King Gustaf Adolf delivers the Nobel Prize to Francis Crick (left front) on Dec. 10, 1962, in Stockholm for Physiology of Medicine. Standing in background left to right: Max Perutz, John Kendrew, Maurice Wilkins and James Watson.

/ AP

U.S. scientist and DNA discoverer James Watson poses for photographers behind a model of the "DNA Double Helix" at an exhibition in Berlin on Oct. 11, 2004. The new frontier in genetic technology is no longer reading it, but writing it.

Markus Schreiber / Associated Press

A DNA solution is pipeted. DNA, which is considered to house the blueprint of life, can be broken down into the four building blocks of the genetic code. Reaction to DNA printing has been mixed, with some excited about the potential for personalized disease cures, and others worried that DNA could be the next frontier for hackers and biological warfare.

/ Associated Press

An Affymetrix Inc. employee places a gene wafer into one of the photo lithography machines at the company's production facilities in West Sacramento, Calif., on April 3, 2002. Gene chips are dime-size pieces of glass, infused with DNA fragments, that allow researchers to study how and why genes react to various stimuli.

Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

Robyn Thompson, an associate scientist with InnoGenomics Technologies, works with DNA samples in a laboratory at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center on Sept. 29, 2011. The lab aims to succeed in profiling the smallest of genetic samples and having results on DNA comparisons completed within an hour or two — a vast improvement over the usual time it takes for such analysis.

Gerald Herbert / AP

J. Craig Venter talks with Li Ma, the scientist who made the initial transfers of synthetic cell materials at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Venter announced in May 2010 that his team had, for the first time in history, built a synthetic life form.

Eli Meir Kaplan / For The Washington Post

Senior scientists Clyde Hutchinson, left, and Hamilton Smith, a Nobel Laureate in medicine, work in their lab at JCVI Institute. They provide much of the "wet lab" expertise in dealing with DNA for Craig Venter of the J. Craig Venter Institute and were key to the synthetic cell project.

Michael Kelley / For The Washington Post

Michael Morton is squeezed on the shoulder by his mother, Pat Morton, before leaving the Williamson County Courthouse in Taylor, Texas, on Oct. 4, 2011. Morton was freed from a life sentence after recent DNA tests linked Christine Morton's murder to a then-unidentified felon. Advances in DNA have allowed for the exoneration of hundreds of individuals accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Ricardo B. Brazziell / AP

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SILVER SPRING MD: MAY 18
from left to right, Bodybuilders Jorge Villatoro, Sidney Bumbrey, Eric Holmes and Ron Coleman show off their most muscular poses for the judges at the 2013 Musclemania - Capital Tournament of Champions Contest held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 18, 2013.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Flexing their muscles

Dozens of bodybuilders came out to Silver Spring to compete in the 2013 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions.

Kriket Krekemeyer cries while cleaning up her tornado-ravaged home in Moore, Okla., Wednesday, May 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Mike Simons)

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A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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MOORE, OK - MAY 22: A street of tornado destructed homes is reflected on a puddle of water on May 22, 2013 in Moore, Ok. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

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WASHINGTON DC: MAY 22
Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Mr. DC pageant is a fundraising event to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The qualifications for the Mr. District of Columbia finalists is that they must live, work and attend school in the District of Columbia between the ages of 21-30 who are unmarried, intelligent, and dapper in a suit.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Mr. D.C. Pageant contestants compete for charity

Contestants in the Mr. D.C. Pageant, a fundraising event, helped raise more than $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

US comedian Jerry Lewis laughs on May 23, 2013 during a press confrence for the film 'Max Rose' presented Out of Competition at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / LOIC VENANCELOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

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A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

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