They used the game to demonstrate a new DNA origami technique. X's and O's The world's smallest game of tic-tac-toe could have a big impact on the future of nanotechnology.

California researchers have revealed a tiny tic-tac-toe game that uses DNA. The game shows off a major breakthrough in nanotechnology, as it uses a dynamic system to reshape tiny tiles of DNA.

The Tic-Tac-Toe game circumvents this complication by using a second technique called DNA strand displacement. With this approach, scientists again exploit DNA pairing patterns.

"Using this mechanism, we created the world's smallest game board for playing tic-tac-toe, where every move involves molecular self-reconfiguration for swapping in and out hundreds of DNA strands ...