An artificial protein capable of self-organizing materials at the nanoscale created

A Dartmouth College scientist and his collaborators have created an artificial protein that organizes new materials at the nanoscale.
The goal of the new study was to create an artificial protein that would self-organize into a new material—an atomically periodic lattice of buckminster fullerene molecules. Buckminster fullerene (buckyball for short) is a sphere-like molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms shaped like a soccer ball. Buckyballs have an array of unusual properties, which have excited scientists for several decades because of their potential applications. Buckyballs are currently used in nanotechology due to their high heat resistance and electrical superconductivity, but the molecule is difficult to organize in desired ways, which hampers its use in the development of novel materials.

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-artificial-protein-buckyballs.html