The Art of Huang Fu

I remember when the smiley took net users by storm - “So cool! And yet, so simple!”.  While net technology’s made leaps & bounds since then, Paul Rothemund, a computer scientist of the California Institute of Technology has developed a way to weave & fold stringy DNA molecules into nanometer-scale, two-dimensional patterns.  And, yes the smiley is among those patterns he’s demonstrated his DNA origami skills, along with a map of the Americas and a range of others.

Rothemund’s DNA Origami is so versatile that complex structures can be built to cater for a broad range of nano-scale applications.  His development can be adapted to create nano-computers, new drug delivery systems or even molecular-scale chemical factories, says experts.  According to Lloyd Smith, a chemist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, “We are arriving at a new frontier in our pursuit of ever-smaller structures”.

What’s more, Rothemund says that the process so simple that the woven DNA patterns can be designed by high school students.

Click here to read the MSNBC.com article ‘DNA folded into a world of patterns