This Review aims to spur developments in next-generation functional materials by highlighting design rules to interconnect length and timescales.

The Review discusses epitaxial quantum dot devices emitting in the telecom bands for quantum network devices.

This Review analyses the mechanisms of light extraction from perovskite light-emitting diodes and suggests new approaches towards ultrahigh electroluminescence efficiencies.

This Review discusses the latest theoretical progress related to exceptional points in non-Hermitian physics and the associated implications for emerging technologies in nanophotonics.

Using hydrogel nanovials to capture single mesenchymal stromal cells and their growth factor secretions, the authors link cell secretion to the transcriptome for thousands of cells, SEC-seq, enabling the study of secretion-associated cell states and mechanisms in therapeutic cell types.

The interference between two frequency-degenerate upconversion processes enables a metasurface-based, all-optical routing by controlling the phase delay between pump beams.

The level of immune response in cancer vaccines can limit application. Here, an immune mobilization strategy, using bacteria-derived nanovesicles, enhances therapeutic outcomes of tumour vaccination by stimulating interleukin-1β secretion to elicit trained immunity with lineage shifts and epigenetic changes in myeloid progenitor pools.

High-energy interlayer excitons in van der Waals semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides lie far above the bandgap and emit in the ultraviolet range.

Resonant laser excitation is used to control the charge states of colour centre clusters in diamond with sub-diffraction resolution. These states are long-lived and can be read out non-destructively with low energy consumption.

Ion–ion interactions are crucial to the functioning of biological and artificial ion channels. Here the authors reveal that hydrated alkali metal ions can form one-dimensional closely packed chain structures at charged surfaces to facilitate ion transport.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognizes a milestone for the entire nanotechnology field.

Professor Louis Brus of Columbia University tells Nature Nanotechnology about his first encounter with the world of colloidal quantum dots, the beginning of a journey that has earned him this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry (together with Aleksey Yekimov and Moungi Bawendi). He also offers insightful advice to young scientists along the way.

Adopting a nanoscale approach to developing materials and designing experiments benefits research on batteries, supercapacitors and hybrid devices at all technology readiness levels.

As researchers, developers, policymakers and others grapple with navigating socially beneficial advanced technology transitions — especially those associated with artificial intelligence, DNA-based technologies, and quantum technologies — there are valuable lessons to be drawn from nanotechnology. These lessons underscore an urgent need to foster collaboration, engagement and partnerships across disciplines and sectors, together with bringing together people, communities, and organizations with diverse expertise, as they work together to realize the long-term benefits of transformative technologies.

The largest nanoscience and nanotechnology conference in the world took place again after a four-year hiatus.

Reducing cancer-related deaths can only happen with a better understanding of cancer biology and the development of improved, new therapeutics and delivery mechanisms. Nearly all cancer research is dependent upon the models being used, the model’s accuracy, and appropriate validation and benchmarking. Here the need for such considerations is discussed in line with the goal of the Cancer Moonshot.