How DNA origami could help us target viruses and cancer | Jessica Kretzmann | TEDxKingsParkSalon

Jessica Kretzmann opens with a provocative question: what if we could communicate with our own cells at their molecular level to rewrite diseases and reprogram cell behavior? She situates her work within nanotechnology — the study and engineering of matter at the scale of a billionth of a meter — and helps the audience appreciate the scale by noting that a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide, and that a 100-nanometer nanoparticle magnified 10 million times would only be the size of a Cheerio.

Kretzmann explains the biological foundation: cells read DNA like a computer reads binary code, producing proteins that enable cellular function. When DNA sequences are corrupted — even by a single letter — the result can be diseases such as various cancers, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and cystic fibrosis, with over 5,000 known diseases linked to single-letter genetic errors.

She then introduces DNA origami: a technique where synthetic DNA sequences are folded into precise two- or three-dimensional shapes. This is achieved by designing short DNA strands that bind to specific regions of a longer DNA strand, pulling it into a desired configuration through self-assembly — no microscope manipulation required. With hundreds of short strands, the technique can produce complex structures like molecular rotors, machines, and even DNA walkers.

Kretzmann describes two experiments she was personally involved in. In the first, her team created a shell made of ten DNA origami triangles that self-assembled like Lego bricks. This shell physically encased a virus, blocking it from interacting with and infecting cells — effectively halting the viral life cycle.

In the second experiment, the team asked whether a cell could unfold a DNA origami particle, read the encoded message, and act on it. They encoded the DNA blueprint for a green fluorescent protein into an origami particle and delivered it to cells. The cells successfully unfolded the particle, read the gene, and produced green-glowing proteins — confirming that DNA origami can carry and deliver functional biological instructions.

Kretzmann then addresses why this matters for treating complex diseases like cancer, emphasizing that cancer is not a single disease: even within one patient, cancer cells exist at different stages with different behaviors, some staying in tumors while others metastasize. A one-size-fits-all treatment approach is therefore limited.

She envisions a future where DNA origami particles carry multiple therapeutic messages and, like a paper fortune teller (cootie catcher), selectively unfold different messages depending on which type of cell they enter. One cell might trigger the unfolding of message one, while another cell triggers message two — creating a personalized, cell-responsive therapy. Kretzmann concludes by expressing her belief in the transformative potential of this technology to fundamentally change how diseases are treated and potentially cured.