In this month's CRN science essay, Chris Phoenix writes:
DNA is a very versatile molecule, if you know how to use it. Of course, the genetic material for all organisms (except some viruses) is made of DNA. But it is also useful for building shapes and structures, and it is this use that is most interesting to a nanotechnologist.
Until recently, designing a shape out of DNA was a painstaking process of planning sequences that would match in just the right way – and none of the wrong ways. Over the years, a number of useful design patterns were developed, including ways to attach four strands of DNA side by side for extra stiffness; ways to make structures that would contract or twist when a third strand was added to bridge two strands in the structure; and three-way junctions between strands, useful for building geometric shapes. A new structure or technique would make the news every year or so. In addition to design difficulties, it was hard to make sufficiently long error-free strands to form useful shapes.
A few months ago, a new technique was invented by Dr. Paul Rothemund...