Nanotechnology focuses on low-cost, high-throughput, directed synthesis of structures and devices at the nanoscale in order to address the requirements of a variety of applications. Microelectronics, for instance, offer more components per chip with faster response and lower power consumption. Nanometer-sized sensors for medical diagnostics, as well as magnetic storage systems of decreased size, also provide numerous advantages enabled by fabrication at the nanoscale. Although various synthetic strategies, including lithography, self-assembly, size reduction, and template deposition, have been developed to create devices at the nanoscale, these techniques do not exceed the accomplishments of natural systems. The study of natural systems, therefore, may offer valuable insight into how biology, through energy-efficient, low-temperature, mild reaction conditions, has developed mechanisms for reproducible nanoscale structure.