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.

Researchers in the lab of biochemistry professor Jeremy Lee were investigating methods for stabilizing a novel form of DNA when they came upon a surprising result. They found that at high pH, or very basic conditions, DNA readily incorporates zinc, nickel and cobalt ions into the center of its helix. They knew this was the first step in making DNA conduct electricity. But unlike previous DNA wires, this new type of molecule, which they dubbed M-DNA, not only conducts but does so without losing its inherent ability to bind to other molecules.