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This is an archive article published on January 16, 1999

Moving parts made from strands of DNA

WASHINGTON, JAN 15: A team of US scientists has succeeded in making moving parts out of a few strands of DNA which could help perform int...

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WASHINGTON, JAN 15: A team of US scientists has succeeded in making moving parts out of a few strands of DNA which could help perform intricate jobs not possible with available mechanical instruments.

The development is viewed as a step towards building tiny `machines’ that could, in future, perform intricate tasks like building computer circuits and clearing clogged blood vessels in the brain, the science journal Nature reports.

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

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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.

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