Transformers point way to programmable matter

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‘‘What complex systems teach you is that incredibly diverse systems – economic, cellular, the distribution of wealth, the fall of civilisations – have great similarities,’’ he says. ‘‘I started looking at that about 10 years ago and it profoundly changed the way I thought about all kinds of things.

‘‘Programmable matter at its most basic level is designing a material that has components within it with instructions for self-assembly. Basically you’re trying to mimic what nature does, and nature does a superb job of creating all sorts of objects that self-assemble.

‘‘I can sit at my laptop and make DNA form precisely the shape I have designed on the computer. That’s at an extremely small scale but the principles you learn from how DNA can self-assemble can also help you to learn how to make other materials that spontaneously build into useful objects.’’