What are we looking at?
Trillions of DNA nanostructures come together to form the DNA crystals you can see here, as viewed under a microscope in the Chandrasekaran Lab. The lab primarily works with a DNA nanostructure called a "tensegrity triangle." For scale, each tensegrity triangle measures 10 nm per edge. Trillions of triangles make up each 3D crystal (the colorful shapes that you can see at the center of the black ring in each thumbnail). Each crystal measures several hundred micrometers in length. The colorful lighting helps the researchers see the shape of the DNA crystals as they self-assemble. (Images and video clip provided by the Chandrasekaran lab)
