It’s amazing to think it was only in April 2003 that the Human Genome Project was completed, giving us the ability to read our genetic blueprint, the very code that makes us who we are. With the project’s completion came study upon study analyzing DNA for genetic risk factors for disease, from cancer to STDs. Scientists have adamantly studied DNA with the hope of finding more about how autism, a condition that affects one in 88 kids, develops.

Now, a new project from advocacy group Autism Speaks called MSSNG, and pronounced “missing,” is pushing to incorporate the DNA sequences of 10,000 families affected by autism into an open source Google Cloud. In doing so, the data would be available to scientists around the world who study autism. “Ten-thousand families; that’s at least 40,000 DNA samples, or so,” the project’s director Steve Scherer said in a video. “We’re embarking on this already, we’ve done roughly 1,000 families. The data that’s starting to come back is exciting; it’s telling us things that we didn’t know earlier. And we think once we get into the tens of thousands of numbers it’s going to really unveil the genetic factors we’ve been searching for for many years.”

Part of the project involves the beautiful images in the video below, which were created by artist and biochemist Linden Gledhill. Believe it or not, those images are of DNA — the larger molecular structure, not the atomic structure — mixed with water and placed between two glass slides. As the water evaporates, the DNA crystallizes, and with the help of polarized light and a microscope, the colors you see emerge. By sharing this art, Gledhill hopes he can spread awareness of autism.