These are the first DNA-based works, they can perform calculations, as well as burn fuel and move in
They can be programmed to respond to a specific pathogen or DNA sequence. Therefore, potentially robots can be used for medical testing and diagnostics.
Another important achievement - each enginecan work independently, even if a group is involved at once. According to the authors, such a feature will help create an array of micron-sized engines to perform various tasks and provide communication between them.
The ability of DNA motors to communicate with each other is a step toward creating processes similar to how ants or bacteria move
Khalid Salaita is the paper's senior author and professor of chemistry at Emory University.
DNA nanotechnology uses how DNAbases naturally interact and connect with each other. By moving bases on synthetic strands of DNA, scientists can make them bind to each other in ways that create different shapes and even functioning devices.
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