To apply force to and track the position of biomolecules such as DNA or protein typically a tiny sphere of polystyrene isattached to the molecule and measurements are made. Making faster measurements and detection of smaller motions is not possible with polystyrene. Scientists of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and University of Colorado have found that gold nanoparticles are highly efficient and sensitive for the above purpose. They have demonstrated that 100-nanometer-wide gold beads, due to the metallic nature, can be trapped and detected six times more easily than polystyrene particles because gold absorbs light and heats up quickly at the wavelength most often used in optical traps. According to the scientists gold beads would not be useful for temperature-sensitive experiments or applying force to molecules but the heating effect could be useful in raising local temperatures in certain experiments, such as heating a protein just enough to allow scientists to watch it unfold.