DNA WIRES, only 12 microns long and 100 nm wide, have been strung between gold electrodes. DNA is attractive as a potential component in nano-design applications because of its molecular- recognition, self-assembly, and mechanical properties. DNA does not, however, conduct electricity. In an experiment at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, researchers first spanned the gap between two electrodes with a tiny DNA causeway and then exposed the structure to silver ions, which made a conducting path. (Nature, 19 Feb. 1998.)