News & Views in 2020

New evidence now suggests that the dominant mechanism of extravasation of nanoparticles into solid tumours may be through an active process of endothelial transcytosis.

Two studies shed light on quantum defects in two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride, identifying an optically addressable spin centre at room temperature and offering microscopic insights into different classes of single-photon emitters.

Finding a competitor for diamond as a good heat conductor remains challenging. Measurements on crystals of cubic boron nitride demonstrate a thermal conductivity of 1,600 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ at room temperature, rivalling diamond.

The lifetime of plasmonic excitations in semiconducting carbon nanotubes is found to strongly depend on the carrier density, offering a platform to study non-conventional one-dimensional electron dynamics and realize integrated nanophotonic devices.

Large-scale atomically thin metals can be stabilized through confinement epitaxy at graphene/SiC interface, which exhibit a gradient bonding type and are air stable, providing a compelling platform for quantum and optoelectronic technologies.

Nanoresolved imaging and ultrafast laser excitation are integrated to probe and control a photoinduced hidden state in a strained manganite film.

Mutations in lamins in skeletal muscle cells have been shown to reduce nuclear stability, increase nuclear envelope rupture, and induce DNA damage and cell death. New research shows that limiting mechanical loads can rescue myofibre function and viability.

Magnetite crystals form by the aggregation and subsequent merger of crystalline precursors, which can be interpreted in terms of colloidal assembly.

A high-speed, high-gain enhancement-mode ion-gated transistor shows promise for low-power chronically implanted bioelectronic systems.

A monolayer topological insulator is magnetized by proximity to a layered antiferromagnetic insulator.

Skyrmions emerging from complex order offer superior stability and functionality for data processing and storage, but creating such objects is intrinsically difficult. Homochiral electric and antiferromagnetic structures at the domain walls of a room-temperature multiferroic are now observed.

Two initially neutral conjugated semiconducting polymers are found to transfer electrons when put in contact in the solid state, leading to mutual electrical doping.

Scanning atomic electron tomography measurements reveal the 3D local structure around single dopant atoms in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, providing essential information to investigate and predict their electronic properties.

Low-electron-dose liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy reveals a two-step nucleation process during the crystallization of triangular nanoplatelets in water at the single-particle level.

Through engineering of oxygen stacking and cation–cation interactions, a methodology to design high-energy and long-cycle-life lithium-rich battery materials is proposed.

Bending of few-layer graphene leads to interlayer slip, and slipping lowers the bending stiffness. Beyond a critical bending angle, the graphene layers bend like a stack of paper, with a state of superlubricity for interlayer slip.

The presence of one-dimensional MEL intergrowths in two-dimensional MDI zeolite nanosheets, inferred from experimental and theoretical analysis, allows for world-beating xylene separation performance.

Two distinct topological states that are closely tied to the spin configurations of a layered compound, here MnBi₂Te₄, have been demonstrated. Such control of the topological state should enable new opportunities to realize quantum and spintronic devices.