In many ways, DNA is almost the perfect building block for constructing tiny objects on the scale of nanometers (billionths of a meter). In some of the most promising research, scientists have recently learned to synthesize strands of DNA that conduct electricity. These "DNA wires" are made by plating the DNA with a thin coating of metal atoms. However, because the DNA serves only as a scaffold and is completely covered by metal, these wires do not retain all of the valuable properties of DNA, particularly its ability to bind selectively to other molecules. Now, researchers from the University of Saskatchewan have stumbled upon a discovery that could get around this shortcoming and greatly expand the use of DNA in a new generation of biosensors and semiconducting wires.

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