A map of the Americas measuring just a few hundred nanometres across has been created out of meticulously folded strands of DNA, using a new technique for manipulating molecules dubbed “DNA origami.”

According to the map’s creator, Paul Rothemund at Caltech in Pasadena, DNA origami could prove hugely important for building future nano-devices including molecular machines and quantum computer components. The technique exploits the fact that complementary base pairs of DNA will automatically stick together and involves folding a single strand of DNA in many different ways.