Origami at the Nanoscale: Building with DNA
Folding the Future: How DNA Origami Creates Nanoscale Wonders Imagine building intricate structures not with bricks and mortar, but with the very blueprint of life – DNA. This isn't science fiction; it's the reality of DNA origami, a revolutionary technology that harnesses the self-assembling power of DNA to create nanoscale wonders. At its core, DNA origami involves designing specific sequences of DNA strands that fold into predetermined shapes, much like paper origami. Scientists act as architects, crafting these digital blueprints and then letting nature do the rest. By carefully manipulating the base pairing rules of DNA – adenine with thymine, guanine with cytosine – they guide the strands to interact and fold into complex 3D structures. But what makes this...