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Technology

Nanobot lets DNA legs do the walking

By Jessica Griggs

30 December 2008

A TWO-legged molecular machine that can walk unaided along a single strand of DNA could one day shift cargo around nanofactories. That’s the promise of a walking molecular nanobot made by researchers at the University of Oxford.

Molecular engines that walk along strands of DNA are nothing new, but none has featured as many successful features as the Oxford team’s device. Unlike earlier attempts, their nanobot doesn’t wander aimlessly back and forth, fall off its track or destroy its track as it walks. The team have also devised an ingenious way of powering the nanobot that allows it to…

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