Despite public trepidation, nanotechnology continues as a new standard of Western medicine. Molecular biologists at Harvard are in the process of nano-sculpting DNA tiles--strands of synthetic DNA programmed to build off each other to form shapes to act as prescription drug couriers. Little children played LEGO blocks to act as expressions of their creativity -- in the future, we me find that our DNA will be the toolkit for creation:
“Each tile acts like a Lego block,” says Yin. Tiles automatically interlock with neighbouring tiles that carry a complementary DNA sequence. This means that with a bit of forward planning, the team could design a complete set of tiles that lock together to create more than 100 shapes - including any letter of the alphabet.
Scientists hope that synthetic DNA shapes could dodge the immune system, buying them more time to shuttle drugs to the right tissue. Yin believes they could be the future: The body’s own therapeutic system, designed by our cells and for our cells.