Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Cancer initiation and progression are characterized by complex molecular and structural changes in cells and the extracellular matrix. These changes are expected to affect the mechanical properties and responses of cells and their surrounding environment. The atomic force microscope (AFM) has been used to show that cancer cells are more compliant than healthy cells. However, the relevance of these single-cell measurements performed on cells isolated from tumours has been questioned because they lack the appropriate 3D tissue environment. Marija Plodinec et al. have now used an indentation-type AFM for the nanomechanical characterization and diagnosis of breast cancer progression. This is illustrated on the cover image that shows an AFM tip probing an invasive cancer cell that is protruding above a malignant matrix-embedded cluster.
With the rise of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, graphene is no longer the only two-dimensional crystal attracting significant interest in the research community.
Biological motors and pumps are equilibrium devices that couple chemical, electrical and mechanical processes in an environment that is far from equilibrium. Recognition of the key role played by microscopic reversibility in their operation is a first step towards rational design of artificial molecular devices.
A single layer of graphene can be used as a tunnel barrier for spin injection in silicon with several advantages over other materials that have previously been used.
The conductivity of a single graphene nanoribbon can be measured by lifting the nanoribbon off a surface with the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope.
Many experiments have demonstrated that the spin direction of an electron survives for a relatively long time in an organic material. Results presented at a recent conference show how such long spin-lifetimes can be used in devices.
Single-layer metal dichalcogenides are two-dimensional semiconductors that present strong potential for electronic and sensing applications complementary to that of graphene.
The conductance properties of a narrow graphene nanoribbon are correlated with its electronic states over a wide range of bias voltages using a scanning tunnelling microscope.
Hall effect measurement set-up on a single core–shell semiconductor nanowire enables spatially resolved determination of carrier concentration and mobility in the nanowire shell.
Photocurrent microscopy on suspended vanadium dioxide nanobeams reveals the thermal origin of the photoresponse in materials with strong electron–electron and electron–phonon correlations.
Current models used for estimating cell stiffness from atomic force microscopy measurements generally overestimate it. Now, an analytical correction for these models enables the cell stiffness to be estimated more accurately, and improves the use of atomic force microscopy as a diagnostic tool in cancer.
Spin can be injected into silicon from a ferromagnetic contact and across a graphene barrier with resistance-area products up to one thousand times lower than with comparable oxide tunnel barriers.
The efficiency of solar cells with high-area, nanostructured surfaces is limited by surface and Auger charge-recombination processes, which can be slowed through appropriate levels of junction doping.
Nanomechanical signatures of human breast biopsies obtained using an atomic force microscope show close correlation between softening of cancer cells and progression of cancer.