The smallest smiley in the world

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have succeeded in creating the world's smallest, smallest smiley, in nanoseconds - just a few thousandths of the smallest filament diameter.

Dr. Paul Rothemund says the nanotube smile is made up of a pair of DNA molecules (deoxyribonucleic acid), a molecule that is ideal for assembling nanoparticles. Not only a smiley face, origami technique (named after Japanese paper-making) also produces many other nanoscale octagonal shapes.

The successful development of a bioactive molecule model opens the prospect of making nano-sized machines that automatically find and kill pathogenic cells for the body.

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