alienation news

DNA device detects light signals

DNA is famous for its ability to assemble itself into very long strings of code made up of four bases. With a nod to nature's choice of materials, a team of researchers in Italy is tapping the self-assembly talent of one of the bases to form a thin film that produces an electric current when light shines on it.
The researchers have built a device that uses a film of guanosine in place of the inorganic silicon or gallium arsenide semiconductor material usually used in photodiodes. Photodiodes are the light-sensing elements of photodetectors, which are used to convert light pulse signals to electrical signals in communications networks.