Long noncoding RNA molecules (lncRNAs) are estimated to account for the majority of eukaryotic genomic transcripts, and have been associated with multiple diseases in humans. However, our understanding of their structure-function relationships is scarce, with structural evidence coming mostly from indirect biochemical approaches or computational predictions.Here we describe direct visualization of the lncRNA HOTAIR (HOx Transcript AntIsense RNA) using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in nucleus-like conditions at 37°. Our observations reveal that HOTAIR has a discernible, although flexible, shape. Fast AFM scanning enabled the quantification of the motion of HOTAIR, and provided visual evidence of physical interactions with genomic DNA segments. Our report provides a biologically plausible description of the anatomy and intrinsic properties of HOTAIR, and presents a framework for studying the structural biology of lncRNAs.

Asimov's three laws of robotics, which were shaped in the literary work of Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) and others, define a crucial code of behavior that fictional autonomous robots must obey as a condition for their integration into human society. While, general implementation of these laws in robots is widely considered impractical, limited-scope versions have been demonstrated and have proven useful in spurring scientific debate on aspects of safety and autonomy in robots and intelligent systems. In this work, we use Asimov's laws to examine these notions in molecular robots fabricated from DNA origami. We successfully programmed these robots to obey, by means of interactions between individual robots in a large population, an appropriately scoped variant of Asimov's laws, and even emulate the key scenario from Asimov's story "Runaround," in which a fictional robot gets into trouble despite adhering to the laws. Our findings show that abstract, complex notions can be encoded and implemented at the molecular scale, when we understand robots on this scale on the basis of their interactions.

Living organisms constantly maintain their structural and biochemical integrity by the critical means of response, healing, and regeneration. Inanimate objects, on the other hand, are axiomatically considered incapable of responding to damage and healing it, leading to the profound negative environmental impact of their continuous manufacturing and trashing. Objects with such biological properties would be a significant step towards sustainable technology. In this work we present a feasible strategy for driving regeneration in fabric by means of integration with a bacterial biofilm to obtain a symbiotic-like hybrid - the fabric provides structural framework to the biofilm and supports its growth, whereas the biofilm responds to mechanical tear by synthesizing a silk protein engineered to self-assemble upon secretion from the cells. We propose the term crossbiosis to describe this and other hybrid systems combining organism and object. Our strategy could be implemented in other systems and drive sensing of integrity and response by regeneration in other materials as well.

Long noncoding RNA molecules (lncRNAs) are estimated to account for the majority of eukaryotic genomic transcripts, and have been associated with multiple diseases in humans. However, our understanding of their structure-function relationships is scarce, with structural evidence coming mostly from indirect biochemical approaches or computational predictions. Here we describe the hypothetical molecular anatomy of the lncRNA HOTAIR (HOx Transcript AntIsense RNA) inferred from direct, high-resolution visualization by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in nucleus-like conditions at 37 degrees. Our observations reveal that HOTAIR has a distinct anatomy with a high degree of plasticity. Fast AFM scanning enabled the quantification of this plasticity, and provided visual evidence of physical interactions with genomic DNA segments. Our report provides the first biologically-plausible hypothetical description of the anatomy and intrinsic properties of HOTAIR, and presents a framework for studying the structural biology of lncRNAs.Long Non Coding RNA (lncRNA) molecules are defined as RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides, that lack an evident ORF and are transcribed by RNA polymerase II. These large transcripts are often also polyadenylated and spliced. Thousands of lncRNAs are annotated to date, but only a few have been studied and defined as functional. Functional lncRNAs are involved in almost every stage of gene expression 1-4 and have been implicated in a variety of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.Despite their abundance and emerging importance, our knowledge concerning lncRNA structure is poor. Existing information on the structure of large RNA molecules in general is scarce, with less than 7% of all RNA structures in the Protein Data Bank being in the size range between 200 and 5,000 nucleotides, most of these being ribosomal RNA subunits 5 studied by Xray crystallography. The structure of MALAT1 has been resolved by crystallography 6 , but