  Nucleic acids, like DNA and RNA, are molecules that are present in any life
form. Their most notable function is to encode biological information. Why then
would a physicist be interested in these molecules? As we will see, DNA is an
interesting molecular tool for physicists to test and explore physical laws and
theories, like the ergodic theorem, the theory of elasticity and information
theory. DNA also has unique material properties, which attract material
scientists, nanotechnologists and engineers. Among interesting developments in
this field are DNA-based hybrid materials and DNA origami.
