A new material has been created using DNA which is FOUR times stronger than steel.
A team of boffins created a glass nanostructure.
They then coated DNA with it.
They were able to develop the material from it that was strong but also incredibly lightweight.
“We focused on using DNA as a programmable nanomaterial to form a complex 3D scaffold,” said Aaron Michelson, a postdoctoral researcher at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, in New York, US.
The lab is run by the US Department for Energy.
It worked with other experts from Columbia University, also in New York and the University of Connecticut, near Hartford.
To test the strength of the material, they used a technique called nanoindentation.
This is a mechanical test where resistive force is applied with precise instruments.
Despite having a density five times lower than steel, the test showed it to be four times stronger.
A further study is now underway, with the research team hoping to look at applying the technique to other materials, such as carbide ceramics.
