The nanoscale monorail
Molecular machines
All aboard the nanotube freight train. It may be just a tiny gold flake moving half a millimeter, but new research from the...
June 25, 2008

New light on quantum computing
Optical materials
Photons are an attractive alternative to electron spins as quantum bits in information processing because they can propagate over large distances with low losses and can operate at low powers.
June 25, 2008

Nanowires go catalyst-free
Nanofabrication
Randomness inherent in the synthesis of metal nanowires has prevented these structures from being incorporated into high-density electronic and optoelectronic devices.
June 25, 2008

Multitasking nanoparticles target cancer
Nanomedicine
Polymer nanoparticles (NPs) that act as imaging probes and use magnetic guidance to improve drug delivery have been developed.
March 4, 2008

Electron tomography reaches new benchmark
Characterization
Researchers have reconstructed fullerene-like particles with a resolution of 0.11 nm³, an order of magnitude better than achieved to date.
March 4, 2008

Engineering light emission with nanoparticle dopants
Optical properties
New rare-earth-doped, core-shell nanoparticles could enable the spectral design of luminescent materials.
March 4, 2008

Handling the molecules of life
Fabrication and assembly
Improved biomolecular assembly may be possible by using an atomic force microscope probe to relocate DNA strands.
March 4, 2008

Scanning tunneling microscopy just got faster
Characterization
A simple means of vastly improving the speed of one of the key tools in nanoscience has been reported.
January 2, 2008

Putting the heat on nanotubes
Characterization
Multiwalled carbon nanotubes are more thermally stable than either diamond or graphite, researchers have found.
January 2, 2008

One pot, many reactions
Synthesis and functionalization
Chemists have demonstrated how polymer nanoreactors can be used to perform one-pot multistep reactions.
January 2, 2008

Carbon nanotubes offer a crack cure
Composite materials
Researchers have developed a simple technique using carbon nanotubes for the detection and repair of cracks in polymer composites.
January 2, 2008