New Formation

A fleet of migrating birds, shoals of fish, clouds of fireflies – each a graceful display of coordination and control that makes a swarm stronger than its individual members. Rather than living creatures, these are strands of DNA artificially coloured red and green, coming together in a golden swirl. Each of these ‘nanorobots’ is 1000 times smaller than a firefly. Chemical signals written with DNA (an example of DNA computing) trigger the robots to flock together or break formation. A different swarm responds to bursts of light. While the technology is at an early stage, researchers hope to replicate the power of natural swarms – creating complex shapes and structures that are able to divide labour when set a task. Getting the principles right in the lab is the first step towards artificial muscles, drug-delivering robots and particles that fly through our bodies at the flick of a switch.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

Website

• Image/video from work by Jakia Jannat Keya and colleagues
• Graduate School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
• Image/video licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-4.0) licence
• Published in Nature Communications, January 2018