DNA nanotechnology is the design and manufacture of technologically useful macromolecules using nucleic acids, the building blocks of DNA. In living cells, DNA is the carrier of genetic information. In the lab, strands of nucleic acids can spontaneously bind to form strong, rigid double helix structures with precisely controlled nanoscale features. Two- and three-dimensional crystal lattices, nanotubes, polyhedra, and various functional devices have been created. Tiles of nucleic acids can be assembled into larger units. Artificial DNA structures have been used to solve basic science problems in structural biology, biophysics and X-ray crystallography, and have helped identify protein structures through nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Potential applications in molecular scale electronics and nanomedicine are being investigated. The conceptual foundation for DNA nanotechnology was first laid out by Nadrian Seeman in the early 1980s, and the field began to attract widespread interest in the mid-2000s.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_nanotechnology

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1594:

Sinhalese–Portuguese War: Portugal had almost conquered the island of Sri Lanka when its army was completely annihilated, ending the Campaign of Danture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_of_Danture

1874:

The Universal Postal Union, then known as the General Postal Union, was established with the signing of the Treaty of Bern to unify disparate postal services and regulations so that international mail could be exchanged freely. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union

1942:

World War II: American forces defeated the Japanese at the Third Battle of the Matanikau in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, avenging the Japanese victory a couple of weeks earlier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actions_along_the_Matanikau

2012:

Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai was gravely injured by a Taliban gunman in a failed assassination attempt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai

2016:

Militants attacked a border police post in Myanmar, triggering a period of intense persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_persecution_in_Myanmar_(2016%E2%80%93present)

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

oche: (darts) A line behind which a player's front foot must be placed when throwing a dart. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oche

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

You say you want a revolution, Well, you know, we all want to change the world... But when you talk about destruction, Don't you know that you can count me out.   --John Lennon https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon