Caltech makes new molecular motor for nanotechnology

Caltech nanotechnology researchers have come up with a new way to fuel synthetic molecular motors for nanotech, as described by Physorg.com:

“This study provides a proof of principle that DNA hybridization can be used to power autonomous molecular locomotion,” said Pierce. “Researchers at the NSF Center for Molecular Cybernetics, of which our team is a part, are now working to develop logical walkers that can work cooperatively and respond to their environment. It is possible that synthetic molecular motors may one day be routinely used in medicine, basic research, and manufacturing.

See the original article in Nature Nanotechnology. Last year’s Feynman Prize winners Paul Rothemund and Erik Winfree are coauthors—no surprise there. Go Caltech! (Credit: KurzweilAI.net) —Christine