News & Comment

The metabolites of single yeast cells can be measured using an advanced mass spectrometry technique

Stereochemical information at the periphery of a dendrimer is relayed to its centre by locking the conformation of an otherwise freely rotating single bond

The simple rules describing how electrons move through molecules do not apply to cross-conjugated molecules

The Lewis acidity of a compound can be manipulated using a light-sensitive molecular switch

Gold nanoparticles can used to convert misfolded proteins into a structure that closely resembles their native state, leading to a restoration of their function

The first examples of a nickel-catalysed cross-coupling of simple aryl methyl ethers with boronic esters will further improve the utility of the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling

Replacing lanthanum with samarium boosts the critical temperature of the iron pnictide family of superconductors to 43 K

Temperature changes can be used to control the release of guest molecules from a supramolecular capsule with gated pores

The untwisting of a dendron-coated helical polymer during a phase transition drives macroscale motion — enough to move 250 times its weight

A broadband microwave spectroscopy technique sheds new light on conformational isomerization reactions

A new directed-halogenation reaction has enabled the synthesis of a rare marine natural product and paves the way for a thorough investigation of its biological activity

Modified magnetic beads can be used to selectively capture crystals implicated in the development of arthritic joints

Thermal rearrangement yields the first example of a bis-silene — a compound containing two carbon–silicon double bonds

Measurement of the viscosity inside a cell with precision and high spatial resolution can be achieved by studying the fluorescence lifetime of a single molecular rotor

A new polymorph of lithium bromide is predicted to be metastable — and is made by a systematic exploration of synthesis conditions

Catalyst-free nanostructure growth can be driven by crystal defects

Peptides that mimic how viruses attach to cells are shown to self-associate before rupturing model cell-membrane surfaces

Hydrogels that are crosslinked by DNA aptamers are triggered to release their cargo in the presence of specific target molecules

A judicious choice of sequences of aromatic amino acid monomers can create three-dimensional structures able to entrap specific guest molecules

Buckyballs act just like giant atoms, complete with s, p and d orbitals that are bound to the sphere's hollow centre