Around the time DNA was first discovered more than 60 years ago, scientists also found these miraculous molecules that hold the blueprint of life can unfold when heated. Now, a team at the University of Montreal used DNA switches to build a thermometer that is 20,000 times smaller than a strand of human hair. This remarkable research could open the doors for biological thermometers at the nanoscale which might tell us a thing or two about how our bodies function at the smallest level.

Previously, scientists found that RNA and DNA act like the body’s nanothermometers triggering biological processes by folding and unfolding in the presence of temperature. This way, they act like molecular switches.

Prof. Alexis Vallée-Bélisle and colleagues devised their own DNA nanoswitches using the molecule’s simple chemistry to program them.