IEEE Spectrum: Diodes are electrical components that allow electricity to flow in only a single direction. Now a diode has been made from an 11-base-pair length of DNA combined with two molecules of coralyne. The combined molecule, which is roughly 4 nm long, allows electrical current to flow through it 15 times as strongly in one direction as in the other. The researchers believe that the coralyne molecules fuel the one-way movement of electricity by creating an imbalance in the distribution of electrons in the DNA.
