Gift a Signature Gene
Every creature carries a gene that makes it unforgettable — the tardigrade's survival gene, the elephant's cancer-killing gene, the firefly's light. Dedicate one to someone it reminds you of. Pure meaning, beautifully certified — and unlike a genome parcel, a signature gene is never sold out.
$9.99 · instant digital + a mailed Classic certificate
Real signature genes · 32
LIF6
African Elephant
A “zombie gene” elephants resurrected from the dead to kill cancer cells before they spread.
ced-3
C. elegans
The “cell-death” gene whose discovery won a Nobel Prize and showed how bodies sculpt themselves by deleting cells.
TAS1R2
Cat
A broken sweet-taste gene — the reason your cat couldn't care less about sugar.
SHH
Chicken
“sonic hedgehog,” mapped in chick embryos — it tells a growing limb which side becomes the thumb.
tb1
Corn (Maize)
Teosinte branched1 — the single gene that turned a scraggly wild grass into corn.
DdrB
Deinococcus radiodurans
Helps it reassemble a genome shattered by 1,000× the radiation dose that would kill a person.
GTF2Ir
Dog
Linked to the runaway friendliness that turned wary wolves into our best friend.
LUC
Firefly
Luciferase — the enzyme that makes its light, now a glowing workhorse in biotech labs.
Antennapedia
Fruit Fly
A master “architect” gene — flip it and a fly grows legs where its antennae belong, revealing how a body is built.
FGFRL1
Giraffe
Tied to the giraffe's towering neck — and the sky-high blood pressure it takes to pump blood all the way up.
VvMYBA1
Grape
The switch that makes a grape red or white — and your wine along with it.
MRJP1
Honey Bee
Royalactin — the royal-jelly protein that turns an ordinary larva into a queen.
MSTN
Horse
Myostatin, the “speed gene” that sorts Thoroughbreds into born sprinters or long-distance stayers.
Factor C
Horseshoe Crab
Its blue blood clots around toxins — we still use it to keep vaccines and drugs safe.
3FTx
King Cobra
Three-finger toxins — the family of venom genes behind its lethal bite.
VK25
Komodo Dragon
An antimicrobial peptide its own body cleaves from a histone protein in its blood — the inspiration for DRGN-1, a promising new wound-healing antibiotic.
Agouti
Lab Mouse
The gene behind the famous “yellow mouse” studies that proved a mother's diet can silence a gene.
ATPα1
Monarch Butterfly
The tiny mutation that lets it eat toxic milkweed and become poison itself.
GFP
Moon Jellyfish
Green fluorescent protein — the glow gene from a jellyfish cousin (the crystal jelly) that won the 2008 Nobel Prize and lit up modern biology.
doublesex
Mosquito
The gene targeted by “gene drives” in the effort to wipe out malaria-spreading mosquitoes.
CYP2J19
Northern Cardinal
The “redness gene” that turns dull dietary yellows into the cardinal's brilliant scarlet.
Reflectin
Octopus
The shimmering protein cephalopods invented to shift color and vanish in an instant.
GGTA1
Pig
The gene switched off so that pig hearts and kidneys can be transplanted into people.
OvDLP
Platypus
Defensin-like venom genes — the platypus is one of the only venomous mammals alive.
Sub1A
Rice
The “snorkel” gene that lets rice survive weeks completely underwater.
FecB
Sheep
The Booroola gene — one copy gives a ewe twins, two copies triplets.
FPs
Staghorn Coral
Fluorescent proteins — the living pigments corals glow with, cousins of the Nobel-winning GFP.
cas9
Streptococcus pyogenes
The DNA-cutting protein this bacterium uses to fight viruses — reprogrammed by scientists into CRISPR, the tool that can edit any living genome (2020 Nobel Prize).
Dsup
Tardigrade
A gene found nowhere else on Earth — it wraps around DNA and shields it from radiation.
Taq
Thermus aquaticus
Taq polymerase — the heat-proof copying enzyme that makes PCR possible, the reaction behind DNA fingerprinting, ancestry tests and every COVID test (1993 Nobel Prize).
TRPV3
Woolly Mammoth
A cold-tuned gene that helped it feel at home on the frozen mammoth steppe.
mitfa
Zebrafish
The mutation behind the see-through “Casper” zebrafish — scientists can watch a heart beat, or cancer spread, inside a living animal.
Legendary genes · just for fun · 36
Invented genes for mythical creatures — a playful gift, clearly in good fun.
PETROVA
Astrophage
The gene for storing a star's fire in one black cell.
CELATUS
Bigfoot
An uncanny gift for never being found.
+ 4 more genes of the Bigfoot
PYRO
Black Dragon
The gene for breathing living fire.
+ 9 more genes of the Black Dragon
HEARTSTRIKE
Cupid
The gene for arrows that spark true love.
MONOVISION
Cyclops
The gene for a single, all-seeing eye.
PYRO
Dragon
The gene for breathing living fire.
+ 9 more genes of the Dragon
FIDES
Easter Bunny
Runs entirely on the belief of children.
+ 5 more genes of the Easter Bunny
AGELESS
Elf
The gene for never growing old.
FLY1
Flying Monkey
The gene for a mischievous monkey that took to the skies.
SPRINGSONG
Forest Naiads
The gene for bringing streams to life.
REANIM1
Frankenstein's Monster
The lightning-spark that calls life back from the storm.
+ 2 more genes of the Frankenstein's Monster
GREENTHUMB
Garden Gnome
The gene for making any garden flourish.
SNEAK1
Goblin
A sly gift for mischief and hoarding shiny things.
+ 2 more genes of the Goblin
AQUILA
Griffin
The eagle's head and far-seeing eyes.
+ 6 more genes of the Griffin
SHELL1
Humpty Dumpty
The gene for a great fall no king's men could undo.
PYRO
Imperial Golden Dragon
The gene for breathing living fire.
+ 9 more genes of the Imperial Golden Dragon
GEM1
King of Diamonds
The gene for a diamond-hard will and a profile fit for a coin.
LUCK7
Leprechaun
The gene for impossible good fortune.
TIMIDUS
Loch Ness Monster
A shyness fifteen centuries deep.
+ 4 more genes of the Loch Ness Monster
LAPIS
Medusa
The gaze that turns flesh to stone.
+ 6 more genes of the Medusa
CAUDA
Mermaid
The shimmering, iridescent tail.
+ 6 more genes of the Mermaid
LABY1
Minotaur
The gene for a bull's head and a labyrinth-master's strength.
ALAEQ
Pegasus
Great feathered wings.
+ 6 more genes of the Pegasus
CINIS
Phoenix
Rebirth from its own ashes.
+ 7 more genes of the Phoenix
RAGE1
Queen of Hearts
The gene for a royal temper and roses painted red.
GLOW-NOSE
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
The gene for a nose that shines bright red.
CENSOR
Santa
The ledger that knows who's naughty or nice.
+ 5 more genes of the Santa
GRIN1
The Cheshire Cat
The gene for a grin that lingers long after the rest fades away.
TENTACULA
The Kraken
Titan tentacles that drag ships under.
+ 6 more genes of the The Kraken
TEATIME
The Mad Hatter
The gene for a tea party that never, ever ends.
FURTIVA
Tooth Fairy
A silent, undetectable approach.
+ 4 more genes of the Tooth Fairy
GRUFF1
Troll
The bridge-guarding strength of the mountain troll.
+ 2 more genes of the Troll
HORN1
Unicorn
The luminous spiral horn.
+ 7 more genes of the Unicorn
FANG1
Vampire
The gene for fangs, immortality, and a strict no-sunlight policy.
+ 5 more genes of the Vampire
LUNA1
Werewolf
The gene for turning wolf under a full moon.
+ 5 more genes of the Werewolf
UNDEAD1
Zombie
The relentless hunger that shuffles on past the end.
+ 2 more genes of the Zombie