The idea of using DNA as a construction material was first introduced in the early 1980s by Nadrian Seeman. The current method of DNA origami was developed by Paul Rothemund at the California Institute of Technology. The process involves the folding of a long single strand of viral DNA (typically the 7,249 bp genomic DNA of M13 bacteriophage) aided by multiple smaller "staple" strands. These shorter strands bind the longer in various places, resulting in the formation of a pre-defined two- or three-dimensional shape. Examples include a smiley face and a coarse map of China and the Americas, along with many three-dimensional structures such as cubes.