DNA strands become fibre optic cables


	DNA strands become fibre optic cables

cakebelly

11-17-2008 7:36 PM

140 views

Add a Comment

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

View the Top Clips from November 17, 2008

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/8a6f6fe5-34a0-4a88-b206-131f59429a2e/EBB5DD76-D9BA-4CA2-9E4C-40F53587EEA0/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16029-dna-strands-become-fibre-optic-cables.html?DCMP=ts" href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16029-dna-strands-become-fibre-optic-cables.html?DCMP=ts" style="font-size: 11px;">www.newscientist.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16029-dna-strands-become-fibre-optic-cables.html?DCMP=ts"><P>Thanks to a new technique, DNA strands can be easily converted into tiny fibre optic cables that guide light along their length. Optical fibres made this way could be important in <A href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14965-molecular-computer-runs-calculations-inside-living-cell.html">optical computers</A>, which use light rather than electricity to perform calculations, or in <A href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225776.700-take-a-leaf-out-of-natures-book-to-tap-solar-power.html">artificial photosynthesis systems that may replace today's solar panels</A>.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16029-dna-strands-become-fibre-optic-cables.html?DCMP=ts"><P>Both kinds of device need small-scale light-carrying "wires" that pipe photons to where they are needed. Now <A target="ns" href="http://www.chalmers.se/en/sections/research/professors/descriptions/bo-albinsson">Bo Albinsson</A> and his colleagues at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, have worked out how to make them. The wires build themselves from a mixture of DNA and molecules called chromophores that can absorb and pass on light.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16029-dna-strands-become-fibre-optic-cables.html?DCMP=ts"><div align="center"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.newscientist.com/img/B71BE41D-C08D-4247-BE1D-71203A629773" alt="Strands of DNA can be easily made into nanoscale fibre optic cables (Image: Wikimedia Commons)" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16029-dna-strands-become-fibre-optic-cables.html?DCMP=ts"><P>The result is similar to natural photonic wires found inside organisms like algae, where they are used to transport photons to parts of a cell where their energy can be tapped. In these wires, chromophores are lined up in chains to channel photons.</P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/EBB5DD76-D9BA-4CA2-9E4C-40F53587EEA0/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

Clipmarks: Home; New Clips; Top Clips; Dashboard

Popular Topics: News; Life; Science; Technology; Entertainment

Get Started: Sign Up; Install Clipping Tool; How Clipping Works; Clip-to-Blog™; ClipSearch

Tools and Resources: FAQ; ClipWeek; Top Clippers; Top Tags; Site Map

About Clipmarks: About Us; Contact; Blog; Copyright; Privacy; EULA

Search Options

Related Clips

More clips from cakebelly

Today's Top Clips