AMES, Iowa — Scientists have been making nanoparticles out of DNA strands for two decades, manipulating the bonds that maintain DNA’s double-helical shape to sculpt self-assembling structures that could someday have jaw-dropping medical applications.

Study of DNA nanoparticles, however, has focused mostly on their architecture, turning the genetic code of life into components for fabricating miniscule robots. A pair of Iowa State University researchers in the genetics, development and cell biology department – professor Eric Henderson and recent doctoral graduate Chang-Yong Oh – hope to change that by showing nanoscale materials made of DNA can convey their built-in genetic instructions. 

Visit ISU News Service's article, "Building a DNA nanoparticle to be both carrier and medicine," to read the complete article.

Henderson's research is featured in a "We Are Iowa" Local 5 News story, "A genetic cure": Iowa State scientists make first-of-its-kind DNA discovery."