Seen stray DNA strands strewn across town recently? They're part of an art trail put together by Cancer Research UK, to raise awareness and funds for the Francis Crick Institute — a world-leading centre of biomedical research and innovation due to open in King's Cross next year.
Designers, artists, architects and sculptors — including Jane Morgan and Orla Kiely — have all made their mark on the double helix sculptures, which can be seen everywhere from King's Cross to Chelsea. Some — like Zaha Hadid and Ben Shine — have created their own DNA strands.
For trivia fans, each sculpture has a fun fact about DNA written on the base. For example, did you know that you share about 90% of your DNA with a mouse, and about 50% with a banana?
The 21 sculptures are on display for 10 weeks, before being auctioned at Christie's in September. Money raised goes towards construction of the Francis Crick Institute, named after the British scientist who co-discovered the DNA double helix in 1953.
To find out more about the sculptures and the designers behind them, and the all-important map of their locations, visit the Cancer Research UK website.