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DNA is blueprint, contractor and construction worker for new structures

DNA is the blueprint of all life, giving instruction and function to organisms ranging from simple one-celled bacteria to complex human beings. Now Northwestern University researchers have used DNA as the blueprint, contractor and construction worker to build a 3-D structure out of gold, a lifeless material. Using just one kind of nanoparticle the researchers built two very different crystalline structures by changing one thing -- the strands of synthesized DNA attached to the tiny gold spheres.

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Keywords: dna, blueprint, contractor, construction, worker, structures, structure

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