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Physics

DNA-based detector could precisely track subatomic particles

A proposed particle detector contains strands of hanging DNA that are severed when high-energy particles pass through – and it could allow us to track particle paths with nanoscale precision

By Alex Wilkins

18 April 2022

DNA molecules

DNA’s famous double helix could be used to detect particles

LAGUNA DESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

A detector consisting of a forest of DNA strands could track how subatomic particles move more precisely than existing devices.

Current state-of-the-art particle detectors can sense the mass of particles with incredibly high precision, but tracking the paths of particles through a detector isn’t always easy.

at the University of Sydney, Australia, and his colleagues think a DNA-based version could help. The idea, first proposed by a different group in 2012, promises to allow researchers to track the path a particle takes…

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