Scientists 'paint' the world's smallest Mona Lisa on the world's largest DNA canvas

In 2006, Caltech's Paul Rothemund (BS '94)--now research professor of bioengineering, computing and mathematical sciences, and computation and neural systems--developed a method to fold a long strand of DNA into a prescribed shape. The technique, dubbed DNA origami, enabled scientists to create self-assembling DNA structures that could carry any specified pattern, such as a 100-nanometer-wide smiley face.