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Journalism of Courage
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.
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.
