Volume 4 Issue 11, November 2009

Surveys have found that almost half of all scientists in the US are religious. Chris Toumey explores what this might mean for nanotechnology.

Combining magnetic nanoparticles, microfluidics and nuclear magnetic resonance could transform the way tuberculosis and other diseases are diagnosed.

The cooling rates of fullerene ions have been measured at a storage ring in Japan.

Most probe-based approaches to data storage rely on heating a polymer substrate with a tip, but a new approach relies on pressure instead.

A meta-analysis of surveys about public perceptions of the risks and benefits associated with nanotechnology suggests that further research is needed to help us better understand and, perhaps, inform public attitudes to nanotechnology.

Two groups of researchers have shown that the minimum size of a laser need not be restricted by the wavelength of light it emits, provoking a rethink of what optics and lasers can do at the nanoscale.

A device called a light well might form the basis of a tunable nanoscale laser.

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes inhaled by mice can reach the outer lining of the lungs and cause scarring.

Enhanced fluorescence from carbon nanotubes and advances in near-infrared cameras have opened up a new wavelength window for small animal imaging.

The emergence of new fluid phenomena at the nanoscale will have applications in separation science and energy conversion.

Nanoparticles with dynamic patches can form reversible self-assembled structures in aqueous solution that become topologically more connected on dilution.

A data-storage density of 1 Tb in⁻² has been demonstrated in phase-change memory without the use of heating.

Strain has been used to engineer the structure of metallic and insulating domains in vanadium dioxide, such that a Mott transition can take place at room temperature.

Nanocomposite fibres that display rapid and reversible changes of colour when an electric current is passed through them could have applications in sensing.

Metal-ion detection on the basis of plasmonic resonance energy transfer is proposed and demonstrated in a proof-of-concept experiment by detecting copper ions down to one nanomole with high selectively.

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes inhaled by mice reach the outer lining of the lungs and cause unique pathological changes.

A meta-analysis of surveys of public attitudes to nanotechnology reveals that public perceptions are malleable, so new methods for understanding future responses need to be developed.

Experimental evidence is presented showing that strong spin polarization in side-gated quantum point contacts can be achieved electrically, making these structures attractive for future spintronic applications.

Proteins isolated from a specific type of virus have channels that are wide enough to allow double-stranded DNA to pass through, offering a new conductive biological pore for various applications including DNA sequencing.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes can be modified into bright and biocompatible agents for high resolution whole-animal imaging at wavelengths in the 1100–1700 nm region.