Moving parts made from strands of DNA

“The hinge-like part bends on cue. It is incredibly small — four by 10,000th of the width of a human hair, it said.

Unlike earlier attempts in nanotechnology,’ the new device is said to be particularly rigid and executes motions ten times bigger than before, the report said.

However, K Eric Drexler of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing in Los Altos, California, said that the device is too cumbersome to be useful now but further development may lead to a practical device.