Think Small: Nanopores for Sensing and Synthesis

It is now possible to manipulate individual molecules using a nanopore to read DNA and proteins, or write DNA by inserting mini-genes into cells. Furthermore, development of these methodologies will kick open the door to new biology and chemistry that has been logistically intractable previously. Nanopore technology will place molecular and sub-molecular analysis within the reach of the typical bench-top scientist or clinical lab-no longer limited to genomics or mass spectrometry specialists. Moreover, the prospects for synthetic biology-using nanopores to program or reprogram cells-are promising as well, but have been examined only at the level of a single cell, so far.