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When droplets of water containing metal particles are deposited on a hot surface, they are supported by a thin layer of vapour that lets them slide, essentially friction free. The metal trails the droplets leave in their wake could be useful for making nanowires.

Addressing the ethical, legal and social implications of nanotechnology will help to reverse the fragmentation of academic fields into multiple subdisciplines, end the artificial separation between pure and applied research, and bridge the gap between science and the society it serves, as well as helping to avoid a possible public backlash.

A low-cost processing technique that is widely used to make polymer films is also capable of producing large-area films of aligned nanowires and nanotubes

Porous thin films made from a mesh of organic nanowires can detect explosives more efficiently and rapidly than other fluorescence-based sensors

When two metallic surfaces are brought into close contact, the change in conductance — which can either be smooth or involve a dramatic jump — depends on the type of metal and shape of the electrodes

Separating electrons and 'holes' in core/shell structures has made optical amplification in nanocrystals much simpler than before

A study of the atomic structure of graphene supported on a silicon oxide substrate suggests that what is measured reflects not just the graphene itself, but the surface on which it sits

Researchers have demonstrated electron spin transport in a silicon-based device

A new study looks at how nanoparticles influence the formation of large protein fibrils involved in a number of human neurodegenerative diseases

Platinum nanoparticles with an unusual tetrahexahedral shape are better oxidation catalysts than their similarly sized spherical counterparts

The flow of an ionic dye through a membrane containing gold nanotubes can be used to detect DNA without the need for fluorescent labels

IBM has announced a radical new approach that could make chips run faster and use less power

Applying a widely used theory from physics offers a better understanding of the structure of the protein coats that protect small viruses

Antibody-coated gold nanoparticles can be used to simultaneously visualize fingerprints and detect drug metabolites

Unwanted materials can be cleaned from the surfaces of works of art without disturbing the original painting by using oil-in-water microemulsions