On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Scientists have recruited DNA to manufacture minuscule wires that could be used for nanoscale electronic devices. According to a report published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, tiny tubes that self-assemble can be coated in metal to form highly conductive wires.
Thomas LaBean of Duke University and his colleagues first assembled tiles from synthetic DNA molecules, which they used as building blocks. Under the right chemical conditions, these tiles arrange themselves into tubes that measure just 25 nanometers in diameter and up to 20 microns in length. (The new process improves on previous assembly methods, which resulted in tubes of greatly varying lengths and some leftover tiles.) The scientists then created smooth, uniform silver nanowires from the tubes through a two-step chemical reaction.
The benefit of utilizing DNA to assemble nanotechnology lies in its specificity. Because DNA bonds according to well-understood base-pairing rules, the scientists hope to exploit it in order to place nanowires at precise locations on a relatively large chip without having to directly manipulate them.
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
