Oxford Nanopore is a company that uses engineered biological nanopores to sense and classify macromolecules.
The lead application for their technology is DNA sequencing: https://youtu.be/GUb1TZvMWsw
One of their best selling products, the minION, is literally a DNA sequencer packed into a USB stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq35ZXyayuU
This makes the sequencers easy to use in field conditions. For example, the Oxford Nanopore sequencers were used to detect and track Ebola during recent major outbreaks in Africa:
There is now also a minION sequencer aboard the International Space Station, where it is being used on biological assays on lab animals and astronauts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek-FDPymyyg
Part 1: Nanofabrication via DNA origami
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=noWkRxKYBhU
Part 2: Nanofabrication via DNA single stranded bricks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cmg1oa4-fg
Part 3: DNA nanostructure tools
https://www.ibiology.org/biophysics/nanofabrication/#part-3
The whole series can be found at the iBiology website
(optional twist; this nanotechnology has developed sentience and begun to create replicas of various organisms. the military is provoking them despite their evident peaceful nature by launching their first attack. you are a soldier on the front lines.)
It would be for all intents and purposes a robotic clone. Could DNA be used like this or would the original person have to stand still during the scan and copy process? I'm guessing the mind would have to be uploaded if you want that to be the same too.
I've been reading about how the nucleotide sequence can be designed so that DNA will self-assemble into desirable nanostructures due to base pairing rules. So how do scientists design the sequence and how is the design implemented (how do they form the custom DNA)?
What's the obstruction to building nanotechnology if we can synthesize arbitrary DNA? Why can't I just take some virus DNA and edit it a bit so that it cures cancer instead? (for example)
