DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA nanotechnology involves creating artificial nucleic acid structures. There is enormous technological potential in doing this.
DNA nanotechnology represents a very deep rabbit hole that I don’t want to fall into. Instead, I’ll just peer into the rabbit hole from the surface and provide Wikipedia links in case you’re interested enough to delve further. The main purpose of this article is just to make you aware of the potential of this branch of scientific research.
Some promising applications of DNA nanotechnology include:
- DNA digital data storage – you can potentially store hundreds of petabytes of data in a gram of DNA.
- DNA computing – uses DNA, biochemistry, and molecular biology instead of electronic circuitry to perform computing tasks.
- DNA machines – these are molecular machines constructed from DNA, such as molecular tweezers or DNA walkers.
- Targeted drug delivery – In theory, you could create a DNA box carrying a drug, in which the lid only opens to release the drug when certain biological conditions are met.
- Medical diagnosis – you could program DNA to show a change when in proximity to certain biological conditions, like the presence of cancer cells.
The field of DNA nanotechnology is still in its theoretical stages, with practical uses still years away. If you’re young and still deciding what field of study to get into, DNA nanotechnology is a very promising area.
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