The NanoPutians

By Roland Piquepaille

In "NanoKids made in lab," Nature writes that "man-shaped molecules help students learn chemistry."

A team of Texans has created molecules in their own image. The tiny army of human lookalikes is helping Houston kids to learn about chemistry.
The researchers call their molecules the NanoKids. Their bodies are made from carbon and hydrogen, and their eyes are oxygen atoms. Each stands just 2 nanometres tall, a billion times shorter than the average man.

Team leader James Tour, of Rice University in Houston, says it's easier to explain chemical structures when they are "humanized."

"We talk about arms and legs, rather than alkyne and acetyl groups," he says.

The Texan team has produced a DVD filled with the NanoKids to teach chemistry to young students.

Eight Houston schools are using the curriculum-linked disc as a teaching aid for 11-13-year-olds. If the feedback is good and funding is forthcoming, Tour hopes that students across the United States will get to play with his NanoKids.

Please visit this page to discover the NanoKids