By mixing fluorescent dyes like an artist mixes paints, scientists are able to color code individual chromosomes. The technique, abbreviated multicolor-FISH, allows researchers to visualize genetic abnormalities often linked to disease. In this image, "painted" chromosomes from a person with a hereditary disease called Werner Syndrome show where a piece of one chromosome has fused to another (see the gold-tipped maroon chromosome in the center). As reported by molecular biologist Jan Karlseder of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, such damage is typical among people with this rare syndrome.