The latest developments in materials science and nanotechnology from the publishers of Nature http://www.nature.com/materials/ http://www.nature.com/materials/images/logo_nature_com_rss.gif http://www.nature.com/materials/ http://www.nature.com/materials/news/news/070222/portal/m070222-1.html The response of aluminium to intense high pressures is stiffer than expected http://www.nature.com/materials/nanozone/news/070222/portal/m070222-2.html As perfectly crystalline structures go, carbon nanotubes can be remarkably stretchy. A combination of two mechanisms makes their elongation a self-healing process. http://www.nature.com/materials/news/newsandviews/070222/journal/445831a.html The nature of the boundary between water and oil is crucial to many nanometre-scale assembly processes, including protein folding. But until now, what the interface really looks like remained in dispute. http://www.nature.com/materials/nanozone/news/070215/portal/m070215-2.html Molecular motors are of limited use unless they are fixed in place on an immobile substrate. That has now been achieved for the first fully synthetic, fully rotating single-molecule rotors. http://www.nature.com/materials/news/news/070215/portal/m070215-1.html Nacre is hard to digest for some bone cells http://www.nature.com/materials/news/news/070215/journal/445695a.html Spectroscopy puts painting in the Renaissance. http://www.nature.com/materials/nanozone/newsandviews/070215/journal/445726a.html Newly developed ultrathin silicon membranes can filter and separate molecules much more effectively than conventional polymer membranes. Many applications, of economic and medical significance, stand to benefit. http://www.nature.com/materials/nanozone/features/070215/journal/445714a.html Lucia Covi uses modern microscopy to highlight the world at the nanoscale. http://www.nature.com/materials/news/news/070215/journal/445697a.html