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Mixing granular materials such as sand with a liquid leads to stiffening, but the mechanical properties are surprisingly independent of the amount of liquid. This phenomenon is shown to result from the particular organization of the liquid into open structures within the granular pile.
Although an isolated individual molecule clearly has only one ionization potential, multiple values are found for molecules in ordered assemblies. By understanding this phenomenon, design rules for improving organic electronic interfaces can be derived.
The precise mechanism of the insulator-to-metal transition in MnO has been unravelled by a computational approach that shows that the transition is a result of the simultaneous collapse of the magnetic moment.
The extracellular matrix of dense, avascular tissues presents a barrier to polymer-based therapeutics, such as drugs encapsulated within polymeric particles. Jeffrey Hubbell and colleagues now show that biomolecular binding of sufficiently small polymer nanoparticles can transform the matrix of cartilage tissue from a barrier into a reservoir, considerably improving the bioavailability of drugs in the matrix.
Building blocks of DNA self-assemble into nanostructures in a kinetically controlled way. The versatile molecular system can be programmed to perform diverse dynamic functions.
The biologically inspired toolbox is well and truly open. From three-dimensional DNA assemblies to active catalysts inside the confines of a virus — biomolecules are finding a second, unnatural life.
When a wire coat hanger is bent it becomes mechanically stronger because of the imperfections that are introduced. In situ electron microscopy now shows that small metal structures are strengthened not by adding but by removing imperfections.
The observation of long relaxation times and high-fidelity preparation promote the spin of a hole in a semiconductor quantum dot to the best position to be a contender for the role of a solid-state qubit.