Volume 13 Issue 10, October 2014

Effective limiting of the intensity of low-power light transmitted through organic thin films under ambient conditions has been achieved by proper design of donor–acceptor systems.

Extracellular-matrix stiffness regulates cell behaviour even when decoupled from ligand density and tethering.

Control of thermal emission with microsecond switching times has been achieved by using sub-band transitions in composite quantum-well and photonic-crystal structures.

The temporal dynamics of phase transitions in strongly correlated states of matter are often dictated by the interplay between structural and electronic degrees of freedom. These are now probed in a perovskite manganite using an X-ray free-electron laser, and found to be well described by a single order parameter.

The dynamic control of thermal emission via the control of emissivity through intersubband absorption in n-type quantum wells, at a speed four orders of magnitude faster than is currently possible, is now demonstrated.

The spin Hall effect plays a central role in generating and manipulating spin currents, but its magnitude is ultimately fixed by spin–orbit coupling effects. It is now shown that the spin-Hall-effect angle can be tuned electrically in GaAs.

Aromatic molecules and transition-metal complexes dispersed in hydroxyl steroidal matrices reveal efficient reverse saturable absorption when irradiated with low-power light. These materials extend the range of applications of optical limiters.

The use of a gold substrate coated with organic monolayers and a highly viscous immobilizing liquid allows the characterization of the electronic properties of carbon-based materials deposited on the coated substrates at the solid/liquid interface.

A porous organic-cage molecule is shown to exhibit unprecedented performance for the separation of rare gases, with selectivity arising from a precise size match between the rare gas and the organic-cage cavity.

Non-uniform metal deposition and dendrite formation on negative electrodes during repeated cycling are major hurdles to commercialization of batteries. Electrodeposited lithium in liquid electrolytes reinforced with halogenated salt blends has now been used for lithium cells, and exhibits stable long-term cycling.

Malignant phenotypes in the mammary epithelium have been correlated to increases in extracellular matrix stiffness. It is now shown that the effect of matrix stiffness in normal mammary epithelial cells can be offset by an increase in basement-membrane ligands and that both the stiffness and composition of the matrix are sensed by the β4 integrin. The results suggest that the relationship between matrix stiffness and composition is a more relevant predictor of breast-cancer progression.

Recent work has proposed that both protein tethering to the extracellular matrix and matrix porosity can regulate stem cell differentiation. It is now shown that differentiation is driven by matrix stiffness independently of tethering and porosity.

A polymer–peptide surface coating that non-covalently binds the natural lubricant hyaluronic acid (HA) is shown to enhance the lubricity of tissue surfaces and to retain HA in articular joints and on ocular tissue surfaces in vivo.