Editorials in 2009

Who was Richard Feynman and what did he actually say about nanotechnology?

New research confirms that the proportion of the public that knows about nanotechnology has reached a plateau, which means that it is now necessary to develop new approaches to explore public perceptions in greater detail than before.

Researchers are slowly but surely improving the processing of organic semiconductors, making organic devices more viable.

Lack of progress on nanotoxicology has been highlighted by a tragic accident in China.

From single-electron physics and DNA-based sorting techniques to efforts to improve the performance of atomic force microscopes, carbon nanotubes are still at the forefront of research in many areas of nanoscience and technology.

We need a systematic way to formulate and tackle problems in nanotoxicology, and to compare and combine the results from individual studies.

Changes to our policies on authorship reflect the need for greater clarity about the contributions made by different authors to research papers.

It may be thought that force is the province of physicists and structural engineers, but it is also important in many other areas of research.

The ability of DNA to self-assemble into a variety of nanostructures and nanomachines is being exploited by a growing number of researchers.

Materials can have one, two or three dimensions in the nanoscale regime, which adds to the variety of phenomena that can be explored in nanoscience and technology.

As research into the public perception of nanotechnology becomes more complex and rigorous, it is increasingly clear that greater public awareness of nanotechnology will not, on its own, automatically lead to widespread public acceptance.

The commercial success of low-tech nano-enabled products, such as sports equipment and lubricants, could pave the way for more advanced nanodevices and applications.