A new DNA synthesis method that relies on temperature rather than the endless replacement of reagents and molecular building blocks could prove a vital innovation in the field of biocomputing. A collaborative South Korean research effort led by Yeongjae Choi of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Daejeon, South Korea) has developed a cheap, efficient method of DNA synthesis that could be used for innovative DNA coding and nanotechnology solutions. Typical DNA synthesis methods involve a constant cycling of reagents as bases or DNA fragments are swapped in and out during synthesis, making workflows long, expensive and complex. Each DNA hairpin essentially acts as a template on which the novel strand can be synthesized. This enables a synthesis approach that can be ‘programmed’ by adding a specific selection of DNA hairpins into the reaction mixture along with a primer.