© Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesAn atomic force microscope image of a DNA "ribbon" (top) that assembled itself from a 'seed' of artificial DNA in a technique that could be used to make molecular-scale electronics. The lower image is a graphical interpretation of the structure.
In the natural world, DNA provides a kind of blueprint that directs a complex molecular dance which culminates in the creation of a much larger, more complex object - be it bacterium or elephant.
Now, using a method known as "
DNA origami", chemists have managed a similar if much simplified version, creating artificial DNA that can also build itself into larger, more complex structures.
DNA with those capabilities could provide new ways of manufacturing on a small scale - for example, in the field of nanoelectronics - or performing calculations.
The new method has been developed by Paul Rothemund and Erik Winfree, both at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.