DNA Nanobots and Origami

What can I say? I'm super stoked for our first science topic. My scientific passion is for molecular biology- enzymes, mitochondria, and DNA are enticingly baffling. Don't worry: I haven't forgotten about the remainder of my San Francisco trip. I haven't forgotten about other fashion requests. But this, when I saw it, was too good to pass up. You all need to know about it, and if you talk about this at your next dinner party, believe me, your guests will be amazed.

First, we need to start with a basic biology refresher. DNA, the information molecule in all cells, is comprised of 4 basic building blocks, or nucleotides. Generally they are abbreviated as G, A, T, & C. The nucleotides are strung together in an order or sequence that the cell translates as some sort of useful information. If even from high school biology or sci-fi entertainment, we are probably all familiar in some way or another with the double-helix spiral shape of DNA. A DNA molecule is most stable when the strand pairs with a complimentary strand. G's bind to C's, and A's bind to T's. This is how you get that characteristic spiral ladder formation.


Naturally, DNA is used to store all the information an organism needs to survive. More recently however, researchers have created exciting applications for DNA in nanotechnology. Just a few months ago, researchers reported the invention of nanobot "spiders"! The spiders are exponentially smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. What is even more exciting is that these nanobots are powered by the same DNA interactions discussed above, not battery or solar powered. "How?" you ask. So glad you did! I'll tell you!

The nanobots are comprised mostly of DNA, not for information but for movement, stability, and carrying cargo. The basic spider shape has 2-3 DNA legs with feet made of only one strand of DNA. DNA arms may also exist to carry certain types of predetermined cargo composed of a small particle.

DNA Nanobot Spider
(deceivingly simple looking, no?)
F's = single stranded DNA feet
H's = singled stranded DNA hands
Green = double helix DNA body
(Image from Gu et al., 2010)

In order to really understand how these actually move, we need to talk about DNA origami. Seriously, this is a real term apparently. You'll quickly see why. DNA origami was developed by Paul Rothemund at Caltech in 2006. DNA origami is simply sheets of DNA double-helices folded into shapes! The sequence of the DNA in the origami can be controlled by the origami creator. Rothemund has created simple shapes like rectangles to more complicated shapes like stars, triangles, and even smiley faces!


So! Just like Rothemund, researchers created a sheet of DNA origami with a "track" for the spider to follow. The track is made of sequences specific to the DNA sequence on the spider feet. Put the DNA bot on the track, and the feet will "stick" to the sequence specific track. This still doesn't explain movement. The feet also come furnished with a DNA cutter, or enzyme! So, the bot places its foot on a track step and binds to the DNA. The track has a signal to initiate the DNA cutter, causing the DNA interactions between feet and track to be separated. The cutting action releases the foot and allows it to bind to the next step on the track. Thus, spiders are powered to move along a predetermined path. Currently, spiders can take approximately 50 steps before falling off the origami sheet. Amazingly, inventors also have created a stop signal in the track, forcing the DNA bot to "stop dead in its tracks". Ha! :)

Left side: DNA foot + cutter enzyme attached to origami, then releasing
Right side: "spider" following track
(Image from Lund et al., 2010)

Just the fact that we can do this is amazing! Nanotechnology has advanced light years in the past decade. But the dreams envisioned by researchers for these elegant little bots are enormous. According to an interview conducted by ScienceNews, the dream is to use the nanobots as a disease therapy. Hopefully, they will crawl along your cell membranes, identify cancerous cells, and help your body destroy them. We are more lightyears from this reality, but this is where science is heading.

Please ask if you have any questions! And if there are any other science topics you'd like me cover, let me know!



References:

DNA on the Move. Gwyneth Dickey. September 11, 2010. http://www.sciencenews.org

Hongzhou Gu, Jie Chao, Shou-Jun Xiao & Nadrian C. Seeman. 2010. A proximity-based programmable DNA nanoscale assembly line. Nature. May 13, 2010. http://www.nature.com

Kyle Lund, Anthony J. Manzo, Nadine Dabby, Nicole Michelotti, Alexander Johnson-Buck, Jeanette Nangreave, Steven Taylor, Renjun Pei, Milan N. Stojanovic, Nils G. Walter, Erik Winfree & Hao Yan. Molecular robots guided by prescriptive landscapes. Nature. May 13, 2010. http://www.nature.com

Request: The Jean Equivalent Skirt

I often get questions from friends about fashion, sometimes food, and sometimes science. Although, I do tend to be in a world of my own with the science thing sometimes. Anyone else have a hard time staying away from inappropriate dinner conversations? Anyways, I've informed my friends that I will take topic requests for my blog. The first request I got is awesome, so we're taking a brief hiatus from the San Francisco series to answer our first question:

"I would like you to cover the skirt equivalent of a pair of jeans. :) Since I can't wear jeans to school, I want something that goes with boots, sandals, flats, sweaters, t-shirts, button down shirts, blouses, jackets . . . you get the idea. It also has to be school and age-appropriate (i.e., not a mini-skirt)."

Not to fear my teacher friend! I have a couple of what I think are great ideas.

I personally love the new Fall fashion trends. Classic yet bold. Here's a new Michael Kors skirt that will pair nicely with boots, sandals, blouses, jackets, ribbed tops and sweaters:

Design by Michael Kors
Photo courtesy of MarieClaire.com

If you're not a fan of the high waist, here's something that is a cheaper alternative and sits a little lower:

Photo courtesy of LilyLilyShop.com

I personally prefer the look and style of the Kors camel skirt. Buttons are fabulous (and "in" this Fall season) and the flared length gives it a classic appeal (think Katherine Hepburn). By the way, this is why I adore Michael Kors. He has the ability to make clothes for women that are modern classics. How does he do it? Anyways, I imagine that camel skirt with an airy cream silk blouse with large ruffled collar. Fab, yes? The other great thing about both these skirts is that foot wear is flexible. Try a tan mid-calf boot or chunky, slouchy ankle boots instead. How about gladiator-esque sandals. Yes, these skirts have plenty of potential for dress up or dress down.

I'm also a fan of riding skirts with a modern twist. These are often longer with great shape:

Ralph Lauren Suede Cassandra Skirt
Buy at Macys.com

Chadwick's Flounce Riding Skirt
(Currently on a super clearance!)

Boots are a natural pairing with the riding skirt, and heels are classics. Wear them with button down blouses and modern vests- try it with a belt to accentuate the waist. If you need to wear a t-shirt, stick to a simple flattering cut in a neutral color.

Let's move into a more basic skirt style now. Basic is not bad! There are basics that every woman needs; they are the foundation of an excellent wardrobe and tend to survive trend shifts. One of these is the pencil skirt, and they usually work beautifully for work situations.

Donna Karan Pencil Skirt
Buy at SaksFifthAvenue.com

The Nip and Tuck Pencil Skirt
From ShapeFX.com

As you've probably noticed, many of the skirts shown previously are designed with echoes of the pencil skirt; therefore you can wear many of the same combinations discussed previously. Pencil skirts go great with jackets. And don't be fooled! You don't need to be matchy-matchy. Just because you wear a grey pencil skirt, doesn't mean you have to wear a grey jacket. In fact, an olivey-yellow jacket would be a perfect pairing with a grey pencil skirt. One more tip: you can wear flats with skirts, but just be careful. Flats with the wrong cut and shaped skirt can make legs look stubby.

Let me know if you've got an awesome skirt style!

San Francisco Fashion and Food: Part I

One week ago, my husband and I took a weekend trip to San Francisco- the perfect place for food and fashion. This is Part I of a two part series. I realize now as I plan this post that I need to be more bold with my candid picture-taking. (By the way, what's the etiquette for this?) For this fashion post, I have no pictures of the actual fashions I witnessed there. Please accept the pictures I've found online to supplement this time.

The summer scarf. Out of all American cities, San Francisco is probably one of the few to have actual use for it. In this unseasonably cold Californian summer, SFers wear this new trend well.

from marieclaire.com

from marieclaire.com

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25272738

Fringe. Yes! Fringe is back. I can't be in Union Square without perusing Saks Fifth. Again, can't afford to buy, but if you want to know what's "in", GO TO SAKS. Love it! Tangent: I felt pretty good about my choice of style that day when I got the most absolutely pleasant smile from a gentleman greeting shoppers with perfume samples. Who knows. Maybe it was a sympathy smile, but I prefer to believe it was a you-look-like-you-belong-here-and-you're-a-beautiful-breath-of-fashion-air smile. Maybe I'll recreate the outfit and post the pictures to get your feedback. OK, back to fringe. Saks and the fashion magazines are boasting fringe. Fringe hit the scene in 2010 Spring fashions. It's still in; it's still fabulous. Do it and be bold- please.

Jimmy Choo Bag
Photo courtesy of jimmychoo.com

Marc Jacobs Bag
Photo by Marcio Madeira
From vogue.com courtesy of Style.com

Minnetonka booties

Photo from vogue.com courtesy of Zappos.com

Food, Fashion, and...Science?

Here's the setting: bubble bath, glass of wine, and the September 2010 Fall Fashion issue of Marie Claire. While flipping through the pages, I began to feel...well...excitement. Why? It's hard to explain. I can't afford the designers I read about, but I appreciate the art. Each season is a new showcase for a beautiful, different, or altered perspective from the fashion gurus-- and I eat it up. It's quite possibly because I lack creativity in many other areas (I find stick figures challenging subjects) yet I can express myself with my clothing. I love the race to find affordable yet fashionable new pieces (or old pieces done in a new way). Also, shoes make me giddy. But, I don't think that's much different from many other women in America or around the world, for that matter.

So here I am, a student in graduate school working towards my MS in Biology when my conscious becomes keenly aware of my passion for fashion. But, I still love science, too! In fact, my dream job may include scientific writing (or fashion styling, or both). Mitochondria and cellular signaling excite me the way shoes and faux fur vests do. You might call me a nerd. You'd be right. What should I do with both loves? Well, write about it, of course.

And while I'm already writing and sharing, I might as well write about the stuff that captures my thoughts at least 3 times a day (honestly, usually more). I love food; might even consider myself a bit of a foodie. I'm not extremely knowledgeable, but I can appreciate the culinary arts as well. Quite frankly, that sums up nicely how I feel about each of these 3 topics. I'm no expert, but I happen to be interested in each topic. I appreciate the art and beauty that compose them. Partly, I guess I'm writing to force myself to learn more about Food, Fashion, and Science. Stay tuned to share my thoughts, experience, and new information.